Modern society is incredibly multifaceted, and it can sometimes be difficult for a person to adapt to the conditions of existence and interaction that are “inconvenient” for him. And it is his adaptation among other people that determines how strong his social health is. This definition is difficult to interpret unambiguously, give it a clear designation, because it includes many components, and for each person different factors and conditions may matter. In this article, we will try to deal with the main components of social adaptation, which in combination or separately affect the relationship of the individual with his environment, we will also give an answer to the question: "Social health is what depends on one person, the whole society or its individual groups" ?
What is society
To begin with, you still need to determine what society is. Without going into complicated translations and scientific terminology, it can be argued that any group of people united by common interests, territory and outlooks on life can be considered a society. Another characteristic feature of a social group is the rejection of alien and atypical norms of behavior and attitudes.
On a global scale, the whole of humanity can be considered society, however, within the framework of a single individual, it will be more correct to designate with his word his immediate environment, which can change. Throughout life, people constantly have to adapt to a new environment, testing their social health for strength. This will happen from early childhood, when the baby is just starting his way. At a more mature age, he will again have to expand his circle of contacts, changing his place of work and even residence.
The individual in society
The parable of the broomstick, easily broken when it was dismantled into twigs, is a clear and very symbolic demonstration that a person is also much stronger if he is among like-minded people who support him in difficult times. The stronger the person psychologically, the more stress-resistant and more self-confident, the easier it is for them to adapt in the environment.
However, it is equally important to be in the "native" element for yourself, because even the most powerful person can break down under the pressure of circumstances and insurmountable factors. Public opinion, constant pressure and a stable mentality of the environment over time can shake a person’s own ideas about life, his worldview, and break it in a new way. Therefore, we can say that social health is the task not only of every person, but of the whole society. A healthy environment in your own home, at work or in an educational institution, public places contributes to the fact that people in a friendly and welcoming environment are less susceptible to negative influences from the outside.
Adequate response
It is difficult to expect from a person a typical and predictable reaction to external stimuli. Each in his own way fights stress, expresses both negative and positive emotions. Society quickly enough teaches people how to behave in a given situation, but everyone misses.
Even the most educated members of society, representatives of the upper world fall into awkward and ridiculous situations, showing feelings that are not suitable for the occasion. And it is precisely in such situations that one can see how developed the social health of the population is. Aggressively-minded people, callous and incapable of sympathy, will not give a helping hand to the stumbled, will not help the weak. To some extent, this is caused by fear for oneself and is self-defense. Moving away from other people's problems, a person may try to protect himself from his own failures.
Relationship problem
Psychologists and sociologists from many countries conduct research on human influence on society and the inverse relationship. Observing the behavior of people, they came to the conclusion that social health is a condition that depends directly on several factors:
-
physiological and psychological health of a person;
-
level of prosperity, welfare, life;
-
human rotation in a circle of people equal to him (intellectually and financially).
Getting into a new environment for himself, the first thing a person closes. Such a defensive position is natural and normal, but it can manifest itself in completely different ways.
In the light of recent years, there is no need to talk about social and mental health of society. People have forgotten how to communicate with each other, global computerization, the ability to work remotely, make purchases without leaving home, provoke the degradation of human socialization. This problem is especially acute in young people who, since childhood, are not able to show their emotions and communicate not only with peers, but also with people from other age categories. If a hundred years ago in the mutual understanding of people the main obstacle was the conflict of generations, now the framework of the universal “difference” is even wider, almost limitless. In such conditions, the social health of the whole society is on the verge of disaster, because its members are simply not able to maintain communication, understand each other and interact with each other.
Social adaptation
As mentioned above, the process of socialization for each person begins in childhood, and the sooner the moment the individual I becomes acquainted with the outside world, the easier the adaptation takes place. The first years of life are marked by the formation of character. Quick learning, the ability to maneuver in a whirlpool of events and psychological flexibility allow the baby to cope with the flow of information, to understand why it is customary to do some things, and others are a strict taboo.
With each passing year, a person closes more and more, trying to protect himself and his personal world. So that in the end, the cute and immediate kid does not turn into a closed sociopath, his parents, teachers and psychologists are faced with the task of helping him draw the right conclusions and judgments from his own observations, and give him the chance to overcome the first conflicts on his own.
Some parents are too deeply imbued with the learning process, trying to protect their beloved child from the outside world, however, in this case, the child’s social health is not only not strengthened, but completely destroyed. At a more mature age, he will not be ready to communicate with the world, will not be able to contact with him.
First release
The timid steps of a person in the direction of his socialization begin from the moment of establishing relationships with parents, then the task becomes more complicated, because he gets acquainted with brothers and sisters, grandparents, and then with more distant relatives, friends. But the fact that in the circle of close people can be the norm of behavior, beyond the redistribution of the family social circle, can cause censure and misunderstanding.
The first attempts of an individual to interact with other people can end in a fiasco and a refraction of his character, a rethinking of his own behavior and habits. Social adaptation may take some time, for some children it will take only a couple of days, others will take several months, but over time, everyone manages to find themselves.
The farther, the worse
To postpone acquaintance with the world, considering that a person with age will become stronger and more confident in himself, is not entirely reasonable. Growing up, each of us grows stronger in our habits. Sometimes they are not to everyone’s liking, so you need to be able to resist the opinion of strangers, but always be on the lookout and wait for a person with a stronger character to meet on the way - an overwhelming burden for the psyche.
The constant struggle exhausts emotionally and morally, and sometimes it’s better to retreat, because human “games” can be very cruel and sophisticated. Socio-psychological health factors for a child and an adult are fundamentally different. The older a person, the more conditions are needed for him to feel comfortable in society. The constant "arms race" provokes the inequality of people, and the personal complexes of a person, taken out from childhood, mutate and often become the cause of constant dissatisfaction.
State task
In the 80s of the last century a curious phenomenon was noticed in America, which was given the name "Theory of Broken Windows". Its essence lies in the fact that people behave antisocially, if there is an appropriate environment around them. In those years, the authorities took unpopular and incomprehensible steps for fellow citizens - they did not fight off-scale crime by catching thieves and drug dealers, but began to systematically restore order in the city. Street cleaning, the subway, the full-scale destruction of graffiti and vandalism, catching “hares” in public transport over several years led to the fact that crime in the city decreased significantly.
Psychologists gave this explanation. In conditions of general chaos and devastation, even a law-abiding citizen will behave like a criminal, obeying herd instinct, not wanting to stand out from the crowd. In those years, the US government did not directly fight society, it created the right conditions for social health by organizing a controlled order, the violators of which were fiercely and systematically fought.
