During the fifties, to be the norm in society was to be the norm. To be the same was to be what every one else was being. Doing what every one else was doing was what was supposed to be what was being done. Did you catch all that? And then here we are in the nineties. In the nineties, to be the norm in society in to not be the norm.
To be the same is to not be what every one else is being. Doing what other people don’t do is what is really expected to be done. Now, did you catch all that? Let me elaborate on that a little bit. Pretty much, the point is that America in the 1950’s was a place where you are expected to be a normal person. America in the 1990’s and beyond is now almost a place where you are expected to do something different (or at least it isn’t a surprise when someone is different).
In a “normal” family in the 1950’s, the husband came home from working nine-to-five.
In his home he would find his wife with dinner ready and the house clean. He would also find his two kids, and one dog, all doing what they are supposed to be doing. In a “normal” family in the 1990’s, the husband and wife come home from work, one at two a. m. , and maybe one at two in the afternoon. They would find his kids (maybe), and they more than likely would not find them doing what they wanted them to be doing.
The sun would have a red and green spiked Mohawk, and the daughter main concern is her hair’s buoyancy. Neighborhoods in the 1950’s we very close knit. People would say “Hi” to each other. Parents would reprimand children other than their own. Many problems were taken care of by the community, without questions asked. Communities now are loose knit, not caring to recognise the existence of neighbors, let alone be involved with each others lives.
The Essay on Social Norms
Social norms are rules of certain kind of behavior that society uses to evaluate the population and provides normalcy. When it comes to responding to the breaking of social norms people have different ways to cope or react to it. Some reactions can be pleasant, some could be horrible or even judgmental. Some people believe breaking a social norm could be needed to help govern or control the ...
Today, families have very busy lives. They deal with family members on different schedules. Meals are generally served sporadically, depending on who needs what when. Fifty years ago, dinner was set at a certain time.
Family members were expected to be there, and schedules worked around meals. No one watched television while they ate dinner, and the dinner conversation focus was on what happened during the day. Since neighborhoods were very close, families felt safe in letting their children play around the neighborhood freely. Usually doors remained unlocked, proving the security and trust of each household. In the 90’s, people were more compelled to keep a watchful eye, and not trust neighbors to have the best interest of their children.
More home security systems were installed, and parents were more vigilant with supervision. There are significant and subtle differences between the lives of the 1950’s and the 1990’s. A family was a family, and still is, just in a different way. There have been a lot of advances in technology, health, and society, all of which impacted family dynamics. Even though it seems that we don’t live the perfect lives that were thought to be as such in the fifties, we are still very much the same people. People still make the best of what they have, and when times get tough, they still band together and try to help each other out..
