The Bigger Picture

Whether we like it or not, social interactions drive our society. Without them, we would not go anywhere. It is important to create relationships with people in hopes of gaining friends, colleagues, or connections. Having these types of relationships can benefit you in many ways, such as jump starting your career by gaining the right connections. The social structure is more intricate than one may think. Within it, there are statuses and roles. Think of a status as what you are to the world and a role as what your actions are within a certain status. People belong to many statuses. I, for instance, am a friend, daughter, employee, etc. My roles that belong to each status are different. One of my statuses is an equipment manager for the NIU football team. My roles within the status are to handle  the equipment, work with the players and coaches, and help out during practices. So, my status of being a manager is what I am, and my role is what I do. To gain a better understanding of statuses versus roles, visit this link: http://anthro.palomar.edu/status/stat_2.htm
As I was saying before in respect to making connections, they can greatly impact a lot of what you do in life. Recently, I went to an equipment managers conference. Although that may sound boring, which it was, it was also very helpful. I met a lot of important people in the field like the Bears manager, the Packers manager, and many other mangers from different schools. How I presented myself is important as well. This is known as one's "presentation of self". This means that how I presented myself was my effort to make a first impression in the other people's minds. I now have these connections and if I choose to stick with managing, I can use them to get me where I want to be.

The social structure is not all about statuses and roles, it is also about other factors that influence them such as culture, social class, and gender. Some women in other countries are not allowed to wear certain things, do certain things, or even speak to the males in their culture. This is because the women have less power than the men and are seen as less. Their reality is much different than it is here in the U.S. We try to view everyone as equal and give them equal opportunities. However, social class plays a big part in not making this happen. You may be the smartest person alive but live in a poverished community. Chances are you are not going to make it out of there due to money. If you are in a high social class, though, you will be able to do basically anything you want. This is a great flaw in our society. For a bigger idea on social structure, go to this link: http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-is-social-structure.html

Social interaction is much bigger than verbal and nonverbal communication. One needs to interact with others in different ways in order to do anything in life. It allows you to make friends for your personal comfort and connections for your professional growth. Without much social interation, we would be a very distant society and culture.