If we ever look around in our lives, we will realize that groups are embedded in our lives. From starting our office routine to ending our day, groups are everywhere. These groups may be formed based on a number of parameters, for instance, social groups formed by age, political opinions, or the area in which the person is residing. The first and the foremost benefit of groups in our life is that groups promote our physical health. In sociological terms, this is known as ‘social cure.’ I have been implementing this phenomenon of social cure in my life from the past days.
Owing to the overwhelming academic commitments, I was unable to attend my physical activities. In the meantime, I got closer to one of my university fellows who had a routine of early morning walk every day. He, along with his friends, was carrying this routine for the past few months. Their routine motivated me to follow the same healthy activity. Observing their routine, I started to catch up with them. Although I faced difficulty for few days, the motivation from group members made me start with a new enthusiasm every day. The support from all the group members motivated me to have more self-control over my personal life.
Another major benefit of groups in our life is the sense of belonging. The interaction with different kinds of groups fulfills basic psychological needs. The basic psychological needs include the support for positive attitude (Bradlley). Being a part of the groups and related activities shall improve the mental health of a person. Groups have played an important role in my life for bringing additional positivity and motivation. I remember that when my friendship grew stronger with the group members, I was able to adopt the healthy habits since we all were there to guide each other in case someone was going in the wrong direction.
Some of the factors present in our society highly affect groups such as culture, social class, and status. In this case, groups are often suffering from negative effects. The black and white cultural controversies are not hidden from anyone. That is why groups having a mix of the black and white population are rarely seen (Bradlley). However, it is not necessary that effects are always negative. Sometimes the positivity of other race’s culture is so strong that they belittle our negative feelings for that culture or race.
In the present time, our youth is stepping up to eradicate these barriers since they now realize that genuine happiness of life lies in living within groups no matter what culture you belong. Working in a different group with different people having diverse cultures teaches the art of being a team player which is in the great demand. In high school working with other people from different cultures made me realize the importance of diversity in our lives.
Another factor mentioned above is social class. One’s position in social hierarchy influences the person’s image in his social circle. Person’s social class often affects their physical and mental health. However, when the people are attached with the support groups, they attain a certain motivation to move on confidently in the society.
Social status is somewhat similar to the idea of social class. Society today praises the people with a higher ranking and gets rid of the people with a lower ranking in their work field. Such perception once made me believe that everything is about status; however, it is not true. To conclude, the importance of groups can never be neglected.
Work Cited
Bradlley, Jay. “Importance Of Social Groups | Synonym.” Classroom.synonym.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 9 Feb. 2018.
