Mariano Marcos State University

College of Engineering

De Jesus, Charles Joshua C.

09/30/2014
Social institutions can be found all throughout the world. Social
institution is a system of statuses, roles, values, and norms that is organized
to satisfy one or more of the basic societal needs. It may differ from one
place to another.
Family is a very important institution that comes to mind when
discussing different types of social institutions. Family is a group of people
who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption and who live together and
share economic resources. Families are organized by different types of form
groups. A nuclear family consists of one or both parents and their children.
Even though people say that you cant teach old dogs new tricks, every day
is a learning experience and youre never too old to learn something new.
Education is something that you can never have enough of. There is always
something new and improved for people to learn about. Especially with the
way technology is developing these days. Even though education is just one
of the several social institutions, I think that it is very important. Family
however is more important but it seemed that several students were already
working on papers having to do with family.
In a world where human nature itself cant be trusted not to infringe on
freedoms that rightfully belong to everyone, social institutions such as the
government are needed. Its important to carefully note, however, that this

Mariano Marcos State University

College of Engineering

shouldnt restrain the individual as much as encourage proper respect for

others, including the members of ones family circle. Thats why theres law
enforcement. Government should be limited not only in its power but also in
the taxes it can impose as well as its spending and borrowing. Thats why
many countries have a constitution and dont take changes to it lightly.
But no one should assume that the government will never try to get
away with abusing. This has become increasingly obvious over time and
taken for granted, because many people arent so vigilant about watching for
it and may not even think theres a problem with it whenever they do see it,
or they may simply be resigned to not being able to stop the abuse
regardless. After all, people dont have regular access to what goes on
behind the scenes other than by citizen journalism, and trying to find it for
yourself can pose a threat to your very life. Government can be rather
sneaky about its unwarranted intrusions to make them look innocent, too.
One of the most powerful evidences of this is the fact that getting student
aid, which is government-funded in a great many cases, ends up putting
college students in more debt than they can expect to pay back by
themselves in their lifetimes and can in turn throw into question why higher
education has to be so expensive in the first place. Its also not surprising for
someone to question whose best interests it serves for anything in general to
this be demanding on an income, or whether it will negatively impact
peoples motivation to do anything that costs money aside from bare
essentials.

Mariano Marcos State University

College of Engineering

So

as

social

institution,

the

government

is

necessary

but

untrustworthy, mainly because those directly involved in its work from

elected or appointed offices have agendas of their own, and are inclined to
act out of selfish human nature. The ones they represent may not be above
doing that either, but it just goes to show that being a politician isnt the best
idea for a career if you want to keep a clear conscience.
On the other hand, the church must be considered as a social institution in
much the same manner as we consider the school or local government.
Functions of the church include teaching, provision for communal religious
activities, welfare and recreation, personal counseling of members, and
acting as one of the agencies of social control. There are three general forms
of church organization: the congregational, the episcopal, and a combination
of the two. Certain social consequences derive from each form. Membership
in a church is voluntary, in contrast with membership in most other major
institutions.
The media is a social institution along with family, religion, government, and
even gender. Think of a social institution as something that is in place that
shapes the way a majority of people think, behave, and react to their
environment. Media fits this definition because regardless of whether you
watch tv all day long, or never do, media is inescapable. TV, radio,
newspapers, and even the internet are all media outlets. Through them we
gather perceptions about different groups of people (other people, and also

Mariano Marcos State University

College of Engineering

people like ourselves), places, and other ways of life. In fact, the media is a
very influential social institution. You would be surprised at how much of
what you believe to be true is gathered from ideas presented by the media
Institutions such as friends, television, and the music have shaped me to act
and be the person who I am today. I interact with these three institutions
daily, and I feel that they have had many positive and very negative effects.
Some effects include whom I hang around with, what I do in my free time,
and how I present myself.
The institution of friends can be very versatile. Friends have shaped me to be
who I am today. The common quote "You are whom you hang with applies
to most all people I have known. If you hang around with a certain click, then
chances are, you are one of them. This may not always be a good thing, but
it is most commonly true. Friends can affect your personality in many ways
such as they could encourage you to dress differently (since physical
appearance is very important to teenagers, this can have a large effect on
teens), or do different activities, such as sports, fine arts, etc. The people
who I personally hang out with are a very different sort. Some people are into
sports some are into the arts. There are opposites but friendship between the
different people ties it together. Television is a very manipulative institution.
So many different television programs are on these days, not to mention
commercials. Advertisements for certain products can be very manipulative.
Sometimes you will hear the phrase "If you want this, then you need this .
This can lead to people feeling like they can't accomplish something without

Mariano Marcos State University

College of Engineering

assistance from that product, and it can make people feel inferior, so they
buy the product. Programs and television stations are meant to appeal to
everyone, so you can tell a significant amount about someone by what they
watch on television.