Module 3 - Social Institutions - inside and out.
Overview
Social institutions are an everyday part of our lives that are shaped by our cultural and societal values. Institutions help a society to function as a society. Institutions help to keep societies (individuals and groups) in order, give us meaning, provide us with values and beliefs and also ensure that human kind continues to exist through reproduction.
Some of the main social institutions are - education, family, marriage, political, economic, religion, health, law and order, and mass media. Each of the institutions, in specific ways, shape our norms and values, as well as our behaviors. It is important to note that while all societies have these main institutions the values, norms and behaviors will vary from society to society.
For the purposes of this lesson our focus will be on Mass Media in general as a social institution and social media as social institution.
Our Learning Objectives:
Our Learning Activities:
For this module we will explore social structures using video clips and another forum based discussion. There are two tasks for you to complete:
Task 1 - Developing an understanding of social institutions.
Task 2 - Characteristics of Mass Media and Social Media as social institutions
Task 3 - How does social media influence individuals and/or groups in society.
Social institutions are an everyday part of our lives that are shaped by our cultural and societal values. Institutions help a society to function as a society. Institutions help to keep societies (individuals and groups) in order, give us meaning, provide us with values and beliefs and also ensure that human kind continues to exist through reproduction.
Some of the main social institutions are - education, family, marriage, political, economic, religion, health, law and order, and mass media. Each of the institutions, in specific ways, shape our norms and values, as well as our behaviors. It is important to note that while all societies have these main institutions the values, norms and behaviors will vary from society to society.
For the purposes of this lesson our focus will be on Mass Media in general as a social institution and social media as social institution.
Our Learning Objectives:
- Define term social institution.
- Describe the main characteristics of Mass Media and Social Media as a social institution.
- Explain the function of Social Media as a social institution.
- Explain how Social Media influences individuals and/or groups, and society in general.
Our Learning Activities:
For this module we will explore social structures using video clips and another forum based discussion. There are two tasks for you to complete:
Task 1 - Developing an understanding of social institutions.
Task 2 - Characteristics of Mass Media and Social Media as social institutions
Task 3 - How does social media influence individuals and/or groups in society.
Task 1 - Developing an understanding of Social Institutions
There are many social institutions that make up our society to help keep us organised as individuals and/or groups. The really interesting aspect of social institutions is that they are not really a place or building but more a set of norms and values that shape how we think and behave. One way of thinking about social institutions is that they are overall idea or concept that directly influences our every day actions and interactions with others. Take for example if we explore Family as social institution we discover that Family has three important functions - to parent children, to provide a sense of identity and belonging for it's members (mum, dad, son and daughter) and to pass down family and ethnic culture from generation to generation.
ACTIVITY 1 - There are two parts to this activity:
Part 1 - Take a look at the videos below to get a general idea about how social institutions fit into society. Once you have viewed the videos see if you can come up with a definition of social institutions in general - think about their function and purpose. Use your worksheet to write down a definition of social institutions in your own words.
Part 2 - Take some time to think about other social institutions like Education, Law and Order or Government and see if you can identify their main functions in society. Pick one social institution (Education, Government, Family etc) and write down the main function or purpose of the institution you have picked.
Video 1 - Institutions aka Social InstitutionsIn this video the differences & similarities between social structures and social institutions are highlighted along with some examples of social structures.
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Video 2 - Groups and Social InstitutionsThis video focuses on groups and social institutions and is set to play from part way in the video covering only the content related to social institutions - feel free to watch the whole video if you like.
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Video 3 - Social InstitutionsThis video focuses on the main types of social institutions, their functions and how they influence individuals and/or groups.
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Task 2 - Characteristics of Mass Media as a social institution.
For this task we will explore the social institution concept of Mass Media which includes print media (books, magazines and newspapers) and digital media (television, the internet, movies and the radio). Over time Mass Media's influenced has increased to take over the function of traditional social institutions (family, education, religion and government) in terms of communicating and portraying values and norms that are influencing us all in our everyday lives.
One small example is You Tube as a Mass Media institution has become the place where more and more individuals access information and/or educational information that shapes what they know, think and believe. In fact if you think about it the internet has been our "classroom" for our learning related to our Social Media or Social Madness project and we are making using You Tube videos as a learning/education tool.
A key function of any form of Mass Media is to reach a mass audience with the purpose of influencing the audience's thinking and behaviour.
Below are three videos that provide some useful information in relation to Mass Media as a social institution.
ACTIVITY 2:
View these videos and then on your worksheet write down your own understanding of what Mass Media is and how it influences people.
For this task we will explore the social institution concept of Mass Media which includes print media (books, magazines and newspapers) and digital media (television, the internet, movies and the radio). Over time Mass Media's influenced has increased to take over the function of traditional social institutions (family, education, religion and government) in terms of communicating and portraying values and norms that are influencing us all in our everyday lives.
One small example is You Tube as a Mass Media institution has become the place where more and more individuals access information and/or educational information that shapes what they know, think and believe. In fact if you think about it the internet has been our "classroom" for our learning related to our Social Media or Social Madness project and we are making using You Tube videos as a learning/education tool.
A key function of any form of Mass Media is to reach a mass audience with the purpose of influencing the audience's thinking and behaviour.
Below are three videos that provide some useful information in relation to Mass Media as a social institution.
ACTIVITY 2:
View these videos and then on your worksheet write down your own understanding of what Mass Media is and how it influences people.
Video 1- Mass MediaThis video explores the function and influence of Mass Media
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Task 3 - How does Social Media influence individuals and/or groups and society in general?
For the purpose of our learning we are exploring Social Media as a social institution. Social Media is one of the digital media categories of Mass Media. From your own experiences you have probably observed that we as a society have become more and more reliant on Social Media as a place to connect and engage with other individuals. Social Media has also become the place where individuals are influenced and shaped in terms of their thinking, behaviour and identities.
Please view the videos below and think about the main functions of Social Media and it's influence on individuals and society in general. It can be challenging trying to summarise the main function of Social Media when there are many different forms of social media platforms. However, there are some key aspects of Social Media that all social media platforms share. Once you have finished watching the videos have a go at describing what you believe the main functions of Social Media (in general) are and how we as individuals are influenced by Social Media.
Think about the different roles individuals can make use of when interacting with Social Media. One of the interesting things about Social Media as a Mass Media institution is that unlike other forms of Mass Media individuals are both consumers and creators of Social Media content. Another important consideration is to remember that when we interact with social media we are interacting with images, videos, text and other individuals.
ACTIVITY 3:
Select two different social media platforms (or apps) and compare how they are different and how they might be the same. Try to focus on the main purpose of each social media platform and the way it allows users to interact with it and others. Some suggestions are to compare either Snapchat, Facebook (website), Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter etc.
For the purpose of our learning we are exploring Social Media as a social institution. Social Media is one of the digital media categories of Mass Media. From your own experiences you have probably observed that we as a society have become more and more reliant on Social Media as a place to connect and engage with other individuals. Social Media has also become the place where individuals are influenced and shaped in terms of their thinking, behaviour and identities.
Please view the videos below and think about the main functions of Social Media and it's influence on individuals and society in general. It can be challenging trying to summarise the main function of Social Media when there are many different forms of social media platforms. However, there are some key aspects of Social Media that all social media platforms share. Once you have finished watching the videos have a go at describing what you believe the main functions of Social Media (in general) are and how we as individuals are influenced by Social Media.
Think about the different roles individuals can make use of when interacting with Social Media. One of the interesting things about Social Media as a Mass Media institution is that unlike other forms of Mass Media individuals are both consumers and creators of Social Media content. Another important consideration is to remember that when we interact with social media we are interacting with images, videos, text and other individuals.
ACTIVITY 3:
Select two different social media platforms (or apps) and compare how they are different and how they might be the same. Try to focus on the main purpose of each social media platform and the way it allows users to interact with it and others. Some suggestions are to compare either Snapchat, Facebook (website), Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter etc.
Video 1 - 5 Crazy ways Social Media is changing your brain.How do you think the affect of social media on our brain influences our behaviour?
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Video 2 - The impact of Social Media on Society: Good or Bad?The impact of social both positive and negative, and how social media has changed over time.
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Video 2 - The impact of Social Media on Teen GirlsThis video looks at the experiences of teen girls interacting with social media.
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