Childhood, media and education: re-viewing the concept of socialization

Abstract

Human beings do not spontaneously become social beings with effective social competencies. It is necessary for the new generations that assure the reproduction of society to interiorize the dispositions that humanize them, making them social individuals. Socialization is this process that develops throughout childhood and adolescence by means of practices and lived experiences. It is in no way limited to a simple training conducted by specialized institutions. In contemporary societies, the experiences of children tend to characterize the confusion between private and public life and the the obnubilation of borders between the adult and children’s worlds; by a greater reflexivity and by a technological gap between generations that subverts the traditional relationship between the adult who knows from the child who does not. This article represents an attempt to synthesize the different concepts related to socialization in some of the main currents of sociology. It involves a non-exhaustive reflex that intends to offer a modest contribution to understanding the latest advances in the sociology of infancy. This is based on a criticism of the concept of socialization. This analysis is inscribed in a broader work, the theoretical focus of which is the role performed by the media in the socialization process.