Man is a social being, but, being born in society, he must undergo a long process of inclusion in him, in order to become a full and full member of society. For this purpose, the society created educational institutions for the younger generation - kindergartens, schools, higher educational institutions, the army. The essence of the socialization of young people is to integrate into society through the assimilation of generally accepted norms and rules, as well as the establishment of their own, interpersonal relationships and relationships through active activity. The main task of a person in this process is to become a part of the society, while remaining an integral personality.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the situation of the socialization of young people has changed significantly. These changes were caused by a reorientation of the development of society, economic crises, dethronement of old values and the inability to form adequate new ones. The peculiarities of the socialization of young people in the transition period, which our society is still experiencing, consist in the absence of a single line. The directions of socialization of the new generation differ from those that were relevant in our country for many decades, and also among themselves - this is reflected in differences in level and lifestyle, education, access to information. It is in this ambiguity that the main problems of the socialization of young people are included.
Special attention of sociologists at the present stage is attracted by the political socialization of young people. In conditions of indifference of the civic position of the overwhelming majority of the population, it is very important to form political literacy and the ability to own a subjective assessment of what is happening in young people.
Under the influence of modern trends in Western European countries, much attention is paid to the gender aspects of the socialization of young people in schools and other educational institutions. More often than not, we are talking about gender equality, gender tolerance and increasing the competitiveness of women in the labor market.
Stages of socialization of youth
- Adaptation - lasts from birth to adolescence, when a person assimilates social laws, norms and values.
- Individualization - falls on the adolescent period. It is a person's choice of norms of behavior and values that are acceptable for him. At this stage, the choice is characterized by volatility and instability, therefore it is called "transitional socialization".
- Integration - characterized by a desire to find its place in society, occurs successfully if a person meets the requirements of his society. If not, two options are possible: aggressive opposition to society and
- Change yourself towards conformism.
- The labor socialization of young people covers the entire period of youth and maturity, when a person is able-bodied and can work with his labor to benefit society.
- The post-labor stage consists in generalizing the accumulated labor and social experience and transferring it to subsequent generations.
Factors affecting the socialization of youth
- megafaktory - the ecology of the planet, the influence of space - those factors that in one way or another affect all the inhabitants of the Earth;
- macro factors - a set of factors affecting the socialization of people living in a particular country;
- Mesofactors are intermediate factors whose influence is determined by the people's belonging to subcultures, regions of residence.
One of the most important mesofactors is the influence of the Internet on the socialization of young people. It is the Internet in general and social networks in particular are the main sources of information for modern young people. Through them, it's easy for young people to work and manage.