From sociological point of view, the term social interaction denotes an active and varying series of social actions between individuals or groups of people; who adjust their behaviors and conducts as a result of being influenced by others. On this basis, social interactions can be grouped into unintentional, recurring, habitual or regulated. It can be argued that, social interaction is a form of interpersonal relationship where different persons relate in different ways (Clark & Robby, 1992).
A point worth noting is that, when people open their hearts and share their feelings and problems; this becomes very vital to their health emotionally, psychologically and physically. In this relation, interpersonal relation is a process whereby; people share their feelings and problems with others and hence become relieved both mentally and physically if they are accepted. A good example here is in the case of a raped girl who does not want to talk about it because of social stigmatization. In this case, this girl lives in an endless hatred for men and at the same time feel sorry for herself. The moment she decides to reveal her feelings and problems to another person and she is accepted, she is relieved from her fears and worries. Additionally, social interaction confronts deformations that are often built up through people’s belief systems and experiences hence helping in one’s health. This is evident from researches carried out that show that, lonely people have numerous adverse cardiovascular changes compared with individuals who interact with others (Lowndes, 2003).
It should be noted that, social interaction is an essential quality in children and adults whereby; a child requires learning on how to interact socially and psychologically and as a result make friendships. In connection to this, parents should allow their children to visit places like playing grounds, parks, and friends’ homes in order to get a chance to practice their capability of interaction. On this basis, when a child practices how to interact with his/her peers; they gain self-centeredness and become capable in communicating with peers. Further, social interaction among children helps them to be good communicators and problem solvers hence they become more interdependent. It is of importance to note that, social interaction among children educates them about the rights and wrongs in the community; hence assisting them in building relationships and coping in group situations (Morrow & Brown, 1994).
In order to answer the question on the significance of social interaction in society, some research questions need to be answered. On this basis, the first research question would be; what are the implications of social interaction in a society? Secondly, what are the problems associated with lack of social interaction in a society? Lastly, what measures should be taken to improve social interaction in a society? In this case, all these questions will be addressing to listening and speaking as one type of social interaction.
Importantly, interpersonal relations have a lot of implications to society members where they learn from each other. A good example here is at work places where the relationship between the manager and the workers increases workers’ motivations that result to increased productivity. Additionally, interpersonal relations eliminate stresses among community members as they help each other in psychological, emotional and physical matters. On this basis, listening and speaking one’s problems is very vital in workplaces and in society in general. In this relation, the implications of speaking and listening clearly indicate how significance social interaction is to the society members. In addition, listening and speaking has been a good driving force towards behavior change in society especially in workplaces (Lewin, 1997).
It has been noted that, individuals who most of the time work with machines are less social than those who work with other people. In this case, interpersonal relationships educate people about other people’s way of life and hence assist them in appreciating others’ way of life. On this basis, when children are at school, they interact among themselves and as a result gain a lot from others in terms of life situations. On the other hand, social interaction can be seen as a destructive phenomena in society especially where an individual is initiated into an unlawful gang through socialization. It can be argued that, most of the students who abuse drugs get to know about it from their peers at school through socialization (Lowndes, 2003).
Further, this study seeks to look into the problems associated with lack of social interactions in the society. In this case, when children lack the opportunity to socialize with their peers; they face difficulties especially in communication, decision making and problem solving. This happens because the child is lonely hence has no one to communicate or exchange views with, which would result in lack of self centeredness and interdependency. On the other hand, when adults fail to socialize with others concerning a certain problem; they become disturbed psychologically and emotionally and hence lack the courage of facing life the best way possible. In this relation, when one socializes with others and opens his/her heart to speak about his feelings and problems; he/she feels relieved and accepted more than when he was unsociable. In most cases, people who suffer from mental problems and disabilities are those who do no want to socialize with others even when they have adverse problems. It is of importance to note that, listening and speaking is a very significant aspect in society as lack of it would lead stress associated problems like withdrawal. From this it can be revealed that, social interaction is very important in society (Clark & Robby, 1992).
On the other hand, this study answers questions on social analysis in the examination of social interaction. On this basis, a question on social analysis could be; in what ways does social interaction influence a society’s development? In this case therefore, an examination will be done on the influences of social interactions to peers in rural-urban. In this relation, when people migrate from rural areas to urban areas; they meet with other new people and new environments. On this basis, social interaction plays a major role in inducting these people into urban areas. In most cases, peers change their behaviors as a result of social interaction depending on who they interact with. It has been found that, some people are initiated in illegal gangs as a result of socializing with new friends in urban areas.
From the above problems it can be revealed that, social interaction is a good mechanism in social life and hence should be encouraged and improved among society members. In this connection, there are certain measures which are taken to improve social interaction in society which include learning and engaging in social work. On this basis, a child should be encouraged to play with peers at school or playing grounds in order to improve his/her socialization. In addition, children’s socialization is mostly taught by their parents or guardians at home which helps them in improving their communication skills. Further, adults who are lonely are encouraged to start socializing with others by for example operating a small-scale business in the near-by shopping center or engaging in social activities like public cleanings. By doing this, these people would find it easy and interesting to socially interact with others and they could as a result feel relieved and accepted. Therefore it should be noted that, social interaction is the key to life stress reduction and elimination among society members. In this case, listening and speaking should be encouraged among society members in order to improve social interaction. On this basis, these two aspects becomes a contributor to the significance of social interaction in society (Morrow & Brown, 1994).
It is of significance to note that, in order for adequate data on importance of social interaction to be gathered; a number of data collection methods should be used. On this basis, interview method should be carried out to parents about their children and also on children themselves. This would help in knowing what good or bad do the parents do to their children by failing to allow them to socialize with others. In this case, these methods include; interview, use of questionnaires and opinion polls. For a good and accurate interview to be carried out, it is good for the interviewer to formulate questions which should be asked to the parents and children. A point worth noting is that, it is not only parents and children who need to be interviewed but every member of the society has an equal chance of being interviewed. Importantly, interviews help the interviewer in probing further in order to get a good and precise response from the interviewee (Lewin, 1997).
On the other hand, questionnaires should be formulated and randomly given to society members to be filled. In this case, these questions should be both open and closed ended in order to get the required information from the respondents. One good thing about questionnaires is that, the respondent is given time and privacy in answering the questions which would result in giving accurate responses. On the other hand, opinion polls help in identifying which opinions best fit in a discussion. In this case, people are allowed to air their opinion for or against a certain topic and then the side which has most of the opinions is considered as the best. A good example here is where people are asked to raise their opinions for or against the topic “social interaction, is it of any significance to society members?’ (Lowndes, 2003).
It should be noted that, a scientific method is a body of practices for examining a fact in order to acquire skills or add knowledge to what had previously been there. In other words, a scientific method is a process used by scientists in the testing of hypothesis by making guesses on the results of the test before performing it. In this relation, for a method to be termed as scientific; it must be based on apparent, experimental and measurable inferences subject to precise principles of logic. On this basis, these methods include laboratory tests and DNA tests which give accurate answers. It is of importance to note that, physical and social sciences research methods give approximately accurate answers. A good example here is reading on the laboratory test and observing a survey of the members of class in some environment. Therefore, these two methods are useful even though scientific methods are more accurate than research methods. Importantly, there are steps followed in scientific method which include; defining the problem, researching the problem, developing a hypothesis, developing a controlled experiment, analyzing data and coming up with a conclusion (Lewin, 1997).
In this case, scientific methods are significant to social science because the success of a hypothesis is measured by its capability to envisage occurrence precisely. On this basis, in both sciences raw data is required i8n order to come up with a precise conclusion. It should be noted that, steps followed in carrying out a scientific method are the same as those used in social science research. In both cases, a problem is identified, a hypothesis developed, researched and data analyzed in order to come up with a conclusion (Clark & Robby, 1992).
From the study it can be revealed that, a social science perspective does not necessarily rely on scientific methods like laboratory and DNA tests. This is because; good and precise answers are observable and empirical that means they can be put into test through research. In this relation, social science questions are tested in the field through research to give almost accurate answers as scientific methods could have given (Morrow & Brown, 1994).
To wind up, social science through research has portrayed a good method of testing data in the field through various research methods. In this case, social science should be considered as having the same usefulness as natural or physical sciences methods of data testing.
Reference list
Clark, C. & Robboy, H. (1992). Social Interaction: Readings in Sociology, 4th edition. New York: Worth Publishers.
Lewin, K. (1997). Resolving Social Conflicts: and, Field Theory in Social Science. New York: American Psychological Association (APA).
Lowndes, L. (2003). How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships, 2nd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers.
Morrow, R. & Brown, D. (1994). Critical Theory and Methodology, 1st edition. London: Sage Publications.