The present innovations in media and more so television and the internet are very important and crucial agents of socialization. A survey carried in the U.S indicates that around 68% of children have got television in their rooms and nearly half of the youths use the internet daily. There are several social theories and one of them is conflict theory. It generally talks about one or a groups’ potentials to persuade and get control over others, thus affecting social order. It holds that groups and individuals continually struggle to exploit their remuneration, which in turn contribute to social changes.
This theory looks at the conflict that exists between the “haves” and “don’t have” which brings about the struggle among different aspects of society which might be as a result of a group or individuals trying to maximize their benefits ( Joel, 2002). On the other hand, functionalism theorists view society with the assumption of being a complex system that is made of various parts that usually work together in promoting a stable environment. It posits that these different parts have functions and the more functions these parts have in society, the more important it is. This theory also observes society as a compilation of interdependent parts which must work harmoniously with each other. Functionalists believe different parts of the society like education, media, and religion among others must contribute towards the functioning of the whole society ( Daniel, 2004).
Looking at how media especially television can lead to socialization; these two theorists will have different approaches and opinions regarding this topic. To functionalists, T.V. will lead to bringing youth together especially during competitions that are most of the time brought and sponsored by different T.V channels thus making these groups of people interact more and learn more about each other. Some of these competitions include dancing, questions, and miss world or regional competitions. Still closely related to this is the way T.V. makes people have a better understanding of various cultures of different people of the world. To functionalists, this will lead to a better understanding of the way of life and culture of different groups and in turn, reduce the misunderstanding that can arise due to the way people hold different opinions of how people should live. Sometimes T.V. channels do sponsor some events to make people interact more and to get the best out of such competitions. Functionalists believe all these parts to be very important to society and strongly hold the belief that T.V. viewing helps to break the barriers as well as act as a tool to sensitize and make youth more interactive and understanding to each other, thereby making them more social with a commonness in purpose.
On the other hand, the proponents of conflict theory have a different stand on this issue of T.V. being a social tool. To them, they view it as a tool of which brings about conflict and misunderstanding. On the side of competition that is mostly sponsored or covered by the T.V., they argue that most of these competitions will involve those who are well placed in the society. For example, when looking for Miss or Mr. world or region, it calls for thorough preparation and training which means only those who can afford to pay for training and buying of necessary attire will take part in the competition.
It, therefore, follows that it is the status quo that is being maintained and not socialization for it will create conflict between the rich and the poor where those who don’t have will view it as a show-off. When they look at academic competitions brought to life on the T.V., it creates more conflict where the winners will be perceived to be in a better institution than the losers. This can create a conflict in the society where even parents who have got children in the school that loses will view the teachers as being incompetent in their work and it can even lead to the transfer of their children to schools they believe are performing well. In most programs that people view, the majority are acted by people from the same race. The conflict theorists wonder how it will bring socialization when in a real sense they see it advocating racism ( David, 1982).
In a nutshell, the functionalists and conflict theorists will hold a different view regarding media and more so television as a means of socialization.