The paper adopts Goffman’s idea that people attribute the cause to their own and others’ behavior. They propose explanations for their own and others’ successes, failures, and responses. These forms of interactions produce world imperfections based on the division of labor, disruptions of the division of labor, social solidarity, social status, and graffiti which shape interactions and determine emerging problems in society. This paper explores how human-to-human interactions have shaped world stage imperfections.
Ferrente defines social interaction as a situation in which at least two or more people communicate and respond through language and symbolic gestures to at least one another’s behavior and thinking (8). Each party influences the other; they define, interpret and attach meaning to cues around them. These interactions have shaped the content and direction of human interaction. The contention is to understand what brings people together and directs their interactions.
Sociologists have defined the social forces that enhance interactions. Division of labor formed a groundbreaking revelation that explored global interaction. Ferrente argues that an increase in population size and density piled pressure on scarce resources creating demand for more (38). This stimulated people to find efficient methods of producing goods and services. Technological innovations emerged that drove labor forces and capital into the extreme division of labor (Ferrente 39). The situation made early Europeans search for free labor resulting in colonization ideology.
Conversely, disruptions of labor affected individuals’ ability to connect with others. In the U.S, technological advancement through mechanization and robotics has antagonized the workers and caused unemployment. Corporations have opted to downsize their staff and retain a few to gain the latest skills (Crone 66).
Social solidarity as a social force appears to bind people to one another and shape interactions. Durkheim’s conception of organic solidarity explains how interactions take shape. It relies on the interdependence and cooperation of people performing a wide range of specialized tasks (Ferrente 117). Organized crime like terrorism demands high levels of interdependence and cooperation among the actors. They use symbols and cues to perfect interactions.
Graffiti seems to be closely connected to sub-system culture that communicates messages to deviants. Graffiti residue with encoded messages would be left behind consciously and intentionally with the hope that others will encounter it. Various acts of deviance that are unpopular to the general society find their way of expression in symbols. The homosexual community holds expressions different from social norms. However, homosexuality remains controversial and requires public consensus (Thio 148).
Finally, social status is influential in interactions. Ferrente defines social status as a position held in the structure and social structures as two people interacting in expected ways (125). Indeed, ideas of the ruling class become ideas of society (Thio 148). In his 1996 survey; Moore unearthed that in rural Kentucky single mothers earned as low as $394 per week (25). Low living wage had denied them better housing and better education (Moore 27). Possessing marijuana in the US would be correlated to poverty (Thio 48).
The discussion has established that social interaction among humans shapes and directs forms of interdependence among them. Future interactions in the global village will transform leading to technology-based interactions. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in India has transformed the quest for migrations to other countries in search of work. Skilled labor from source countries would be utilized limiting human interactions.
Works Cited
Crone, A. James. How can we Solve our Social Problems? California: Sage Publication, 2011. Print.
Ferrente, Joan. Sociology: A Global Perspective. Wordsworth: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
Moore, Robert. The Hidden America: Social Problems in Rural America for the 21st Century. London: Associated University Press, 2001. Print.
Thio, Alex. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. Print.