Download as a social force: the mobile phone

Sociology is the scientific study of
human activity.
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Human activity—the things people ….
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Social forces are anything humans
create that influences or pressures
people to interact, behave, respond,
or think in certain ways.
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How do sociologists think about
any human activity?
Social
forces
Human activity (the
way it is organized)
Opportunities
Disadvantages
Sense of self
Relationships with
others and larger
environment
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Example of an “invention” as a social
force: the mobile phone
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Revolutionary feature of the mobile phone
it frees people from being in a specific
physical space when they communicate
with others.
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Social Force:
Mobile Phone
Human activity (the
things we do, think,
and act!)
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What kinds of human activities have
changed as a result of the mobile
phone?
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Human activity (the
way it is organized)
Opportunities
Disadvantages
Sense of self
Relationships with
others and
environment
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What opportunities and disadvantages come
with the mobile phone?
Immediate access to
others (not present), no
matter the setting
May not be able to
fully engage in an
activity
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How is sense of self shaped by the
mobile phone?
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What about relationships with others and
the surrounding environment?
In a survey of 439
doctors who
perform
cardiopulmonary
bypass (CPB)
surgery 55.6%
reported using
their mobile
phones while
performing
surgery to send or
check text
messages, access
e-mail, check
postings on social
networking sites
or otherwise use
the internet
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Ability to picture ourselves in society & realize how society
effects our experiences and choices
In 1959 wrote the book
Sociological Imagination which
coined the term —the
sociological imagination—that
stresses being able to connect
individual experiences and
societal relationships
What meaning do you assign to
this empty roll of toilet tissue?
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Which photograph best reflects the
meaning you assign to the empty
roll of toilet tissue?
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Cuba
U.S.
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What social forces contribute to
different ways of thinking about and
responding to empty toilet paper rolls?
Resource-poor country
Thrift-oriented culture
U.S. embargo since 1960
Collapse of Soviet Union
Resource-rich country
Consumption-oriented culture
(capitalism)
Ability to access resources from
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foreign sources
How does attitude toward resources and
corresponding behavior affect sense of
self?
Sense of self revolves around
ingenuity
Sense of self revolves around
consumption
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Question: How do sociologists make sense of
the patterns they observe?
Answer: Three sociological perspectives
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Symbolic Interactionism
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•
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Micro level
How do individuals interpret their world?
Meaningful symbols
Social interaction in small groups
– Shared rules of interaction
– Language
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Structural Functionalism
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Macro level
Society is a vast network of interrelated parts
What are the parts of US society?
How do they function for the maintenance of
society?
– Stability
– Harmony
– Evolution
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Conflict Theory
• Macro level
• Social behavior is best understood in terms
of conflict or tension between competing
groups
• Social change is the result of this social
conflict
• Feminist theory
– Relationship between gender, social class and
minority status
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Peter Berger25