Television as a Social Institution: Media and Socialization

Television as an Agent of Socialization

Media is a major element of socialization for a number of reasons. First, it is, to some degree, a representation of the world we live in. While much of what is depicted is fiction, the way that people's home and work lives are presented on television influences how we view our own lives and the kinds of things to which we aspire. We pick up behavioral cues from the characters on TV shows, but also cues about social structures and how we interact with one another. Television, the Internet, and radio together receive hours of exposure every day, making media the primary means by which the majority of ideas are transmitted to us in the modern world.

The Sitcom and the Construction of Family Norms

A clear example of media's socializing power can be found in the sitcom. The sitcom as a medium is intended to generate humor through situations relatable to typical families. For those situations to be humorous, they must be relatable to the audience in some way. Early sitcoms focused on the so-called nuclear family, which was always patriarchal and almost always white. A child watching such programming would view that model as a standard of normality, something against which they might measure their own life.

Children in homes where parents divorced would unsurprisingly struggle to accept their family situation, given that it was framed as abnormal. Families that were not white would likely conclude that they were less accepted. This is because television functions essentially as an aggregator, and those in power historically viewed the only relevant American audience as white — anyone who was not white received a negative message about their status in this country.

Compare that to a show like Modern Family, where those old archetypes are broken down. Such a show reflects a contemporary world in which families can be comprised in any number of different ways, all treated as normal. A child watching such programming today would have a stronger sense of belonging because of the representations of different family structures, different gender roles, and people of different ethnicities and sexual orientations.

Reality TV, News Media, and Behavioral Influence

The types of programming overall also affect how a child perceives their world. The sitcom is just one of many formats. A child immersed in reality television that promotes narcissism, superficiality, and in many instances anti-social behavior will doubtless adopt some of the attitudes and outlooks to which they are exposed. News programming that directly seeks to manipulate emotions and perspectives through repeated messages calling for fear of others, or through distortions of the truth that normalize anger, can have a strong negative impact. However, there is also room for positive influence when the messages themselves are constructive and affirming.

Power, Marginalization, and Missing Voices

Television is one of the primary means by which children are immersed in their culture. They learn about communication, gender roles, and society's power structures. Power is a common theme across many television genres, whether expressed through political drama, violence, or wealth. Yet many voices and alternative theories about how power can or should manifest in society are marginalized on television.

There are few, if any, prominent representations of LGBT perspectives, the viewpoints of many minority groups, socialist thought, or other political views outside the mainstream. Even perspectives on education, the political process, or philosophy that fall outside dominant norms are rarely heard. For instance, societies that emphasize communal values are seldom depicted on television, even though many Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans subscribe to such values. Similarly, it is unusual to see television characters attend a religious institution, even though many Americans are deeply spiritual. In place of that, viewers are largely offered the spectacle of televangelist programming, which can hardly give any child a healthy or representative perspective on American spirituality.

Conclusion

Television's role as a social institution is significant and far-reaching. From the construction of family norms through early sitcoms to the reinforcement of power structures and stereotypes, the medium shapes the values, expectations, and worldviews of its viewers — particularly children. While shifts in programming, such as the emergence of more diverse family representations, demonstrate that change is possible, much of television continues to marginalize alternative perspectives and normalize mainstream cultural values. A more genuinely representative media landscape would better serve the diverse population it reflects and reaches.

References

Kendall, D. (2015). Sociology in our times (10th ed.). Cengage.