Why is sociology important? Why should I study or, even worse, use sociology? Well, one of the reasons that I think sociology is important is that human beings are by nature social. So, if we want to understand people, then we need to use sociology. But just how social are we? Let’s make this personal, just how much of a social entity are you? I think that the answer might surprise you. In this section we are going to talk about some different issues that show just how social we are. We are going to look at how humans as a species survives—we will see that we survive through culture and that culture is our reality. We will also consider how language forms the world in which we live and how we are socialized to act and feel certain ways.

The point of these things is that we are social through and through, from the way we survive to the way we think and act. And the point of seeing the social nature of people is to see why sociologists think the way they do. The sociologist will always look for the social factors that influence behavior. So the way you look and act and feel is a product of the groups you are a part of. Even such individual things as suicide are understood as social products by the sociologist. This unit gives you some of the reasons that we see the world the way we do.