Friday, September 26, 2008

Membership in Society Blog

"We need to belong to a group to feel good about ourselves."

Agree or Disagree with this statement. Create 5-6 sentences explaining your answer with at least one example to support your response. Also, print your response for class.

23 comments:

Isaac said...

People naturally want to feel special, and the best way to achieve that is to prove it to others. Many characters in stories, particularly orphans or runaways want a place to feel at home. Being an established member is something to be proud of. In a children's book called "The Great Escape", two kittens run away from their house and get lost in the city. There, they want to become alley cats but have to prove it to a cat covey first. Not everyone wants to join a group, but those who do tend to feel stronger.

Unknown said...

I agree, if we want to belong to a group and feel good about ourselves, we want to be accepted. I think being in a group is to open up and get to know everybody. In school, we have the “different” kinds of group. We have the smarts, bad and the normals (maybe there’s more, I don’t know). We want to be in a group that we want to be in and feels what’s good about us. If we’re a smart person, we wouldn’t want to be in a group that’s the opposite from them. It just shows that we belong to a group that we are comfortable in and want to be in it.

FitretY said...

I agree that as human beings we naturally feel the need to belong to a group. No matter how old we get, we, as human beings need to belong to something larger that gives us stability. Without belonging to a group we lose our sense of identity because we have nothing to identify ourselves with. As humans we fear isolation, and the best way to deal with that is to create and join exclusive groups. To feel good about ourselves we have to have something to feel good about. So to make ourselves feel good we create exclusive groups that brand us with a logo, and once we belong to a group we finally have something to associate with ourselves, and feel complete. All around us are examples of groups. The best example of that are countries. Countries were created not only to have governments to protect the people, but also to give them a sense of identity, and belonging. They help us to feel like a part of something larger.

Unknown said...

I agree with this statement. Normally friends come in groups, you never just hang out with one person. When you have a group of friends you feel more excepted and liked, which makes you feel special. When you're in school, all the way up until your senior year in college it's very easy to feel alone if you only have one or two friends that you don't hang out with much. Friends help you out when you are sad or are in a conflict, and the more you have the better. It helps to have a wide range of people you trust so that if one person is not available someone else will be. Without a group of friends you are mostly on your own with any problems you have and you just feel left out and unaccepted. Our outlook on life has changed and if you do not have friends it makes you look like a "loser" even if you aren't one, so most people think having people surrounding them will make them look and feel better. One example is a new person at school. If you are new and have no friends you feel dumb and weird, but as soon as you start making friends you feel more accepted. You feel like you belong and fit in with everyone else and it's a good feeling. If you don't make any friends you feel down and lonely and wish you had someone to talk to.

Unknown said...

I agree, naturally people want to belong to a group. Having the feeling of belonging to something makes you feel special. Its much better to have a good group of friends that you can count on. People don't usually just hang out with one other person they come in groups At our highschool alone there are many groups of people. Its normal to want to be accepted and liked by people. That's why its so important for people to want to belong to a group.

Anonymous said...

I feel that everyone wants to belong in some way or another. These groups that we join or want to join can differ depending on our interests or our personality. For instance people may join the math club because they like math and want to be around other who also like math. Although there are other types of groups people join, like a click or a sports team in school (goths, jocks, geeks; soccer, football, or golf). All these groups are different but they all serve the same purpose. They allow people who are different feel like they belong by being around people who are like them.

john said...

No matter who you are everybody wants to belong. They want to feel apart of something, they want to feel apart of a group. Nobody wants to feel alone. In addition people want to be in groups where the feel they belong; where there is people like them. Take Arlington High School for an example. Look at the lunch room. Everyone sits with people that they can associate with. They want to be around people that are like them. Everybody wants to fit in.

Nick said...

In order to feel good about yourself I believe that you must have a good group of friends that you can trust and feel comfortable with. Normally this group is very is very similar to each other. Maybe it is a lot of the soccer or football players all together or it could be divided into different personalities or views, like the funny or the athletic kids. The only problem with this statement is that I don’t think that it is completely necessary for someone to feel good only if they belong to a group. If someone didn’t belong to a group he might be able feel accomplished and good about himself if he worked hard and got good grades and did his best at everything he tried. Although he would start to get lonely, but if someone expressed himself in this manner it most likely wouldn’t be very hard to find some friends.

Unknown said...

I do agree with the statement that "We need to belong to a group to feel good about ourselves." Belonging to a group and having friends is important and helps people to feel good. Having a wide range of friends and people to confide in helps people to feel excepted and gives them an identity. Highschool is a perfect example of feeling the need to belong to a group. Some people join sports teams to feel excepted while others join a book club with others who share that same interest. People that are alone and do not have many friends feel lost and overwhelmed because they do not have people to talk to about any problems that they might be dealing with. This causes low self esteem and usually people do not feel good about who they are. Everyone wants to be accepted and liked by others.

Abz Gingrande said...

Yes i agree with this statement. We as human beings feel the need to take part or established ourselves into groups so we can be more accepted to society. we often think if were are not part of a 'certain' group we are loners and not wanted. So are natural instinct is to find any group we can either be part of, or just be known to the group members as one of them. A good example of this is in school. there are many cliques and groups that are known and seen everywhere in the buildings.Like the preps and jocks, the computer geeks, book worms, and more general like the SADD club, and the literary magazine club. All these group represent something more than we are alone, and something we want to achieve. So we feel better off to be able to be called or be associated with the group. Belonging to such group, makes one thinking of loneliness disappear, because they have others to talk to and feel finally accepted to the world.

matt said...

I agree with this statement because people feel that if you are in a group you aren't alone in life and you feel accepted. People want to be in groups to not be an "outsider", so they will try as much as possible to become part of a group to not seem like one. There are many groups in highschools across america, like the stereotypical groups of jocks, nerds, preps, and skaters. people want to feel like they belong and will try as hard as possible to join one of those groups. People like to feel like they are a part of something and it makes them feel wanted and complete. People believe that belonging to a group is a necessity.

Alex said...

I agree with the statement, there is always a need for being part of a group in society. Everywhere in society, everyone is broken up into different classes and groups. Mainly this depends on the way people act around others. You want to belong so you join a group of people that act similar to you. If you belong to a group then you will feel good about yourself. It does not matter what age you are or where you live, there will always be groups of people wherever you look.

mirrorbender said...

Belonging to a group may help people feel better about themselves, but it is not nessicary. People should be able to feel good about themselves by themselves. We should decide for ourselves whether we feel good about ourselves. If you care too much about what the people around you think about you, then you arent really being yourself. If people like you for who you are that's great, and it can help you feel good about yourself, but if you are trying to be someone that you arent, then you shouldnt feel good about that.

j.rose said...

I somewhat agree with the statement. People who belong to groups tend to feel better as a person. On the contrary, people who don't belong to a group can also feel fine. Having one or two special friends and not being in a "group" leaves people susceptible to feeling good. I don't not believe that it is natural for people to want to be in a group, I am sure some people would like to be alone. For example, when a class is asked to form groups or work alone on a project, some people chose to work alone. This is not because they have no friends, or smell bad, it's just a personal choice. Some people work better alone.

Alex Worcester said...

People think that to feel good about themselves they have to be in a group. They want to be accepted by other people. It is a natural thing to do. It is a natural tendency for people to form groups. But i believe that you don't need to be in a group to feel good about yourself. An example is me last year. I went to a school were i didn't know anyone and i wasn't part of a group but i felt good about myself because i did well in school and studied hard. This shows that it doesn't matter if your in a group you can still feel good about yourself. It doesn't matter what other people do it matters what you do

Joe said...

I agree with the statement, that "we need to belong to a group to feel good about ourselves.". In our world, people want to feel good about themselves. To do so, you need at least two groups. One group is the group that you strive to stay above, or the group that you do not want to be like. The other group is the group that you want to be like; the group that will make you feel good if you are a part of it. You compare your status to those two groups, and you must fall into one of the categories. This is all because what makes a person feel good is the fact that other people accept them. For example, a person is going to school. There are two major groups in that school; the trouble makers, and the good students. Since the majority of the other students are good, that person would rather be accepted by them. This explains how we all need to be part of a group, to be able to feel good about ourselves.

will said...

Usually one will feel the urge to fit into a certain group of people. Whether it be to feel accepted or to feel better about oneself. People in general feel the need to be accepted by a group at large because the want comfort and protection from what they fear. A person as a member of a certain group may find it hard to change to another group while another may find it hard. Joining a group is a choice, like it is a choice to pick what food you will order at a restaurant, though unlike ordering food joining a group may affect ones life forever.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
William Gould said...

I partially agree with this statement. While it is true that people who are in groups such as sports teams, plays, and clubs can feel good about themselves and being in a positive group raises morale by surrounding one with supporting friends. However, negative groups can have the opposite effect on people. Negative groups can demean people and convince them they are worthless. Therefore, Depending on the type of group a person joins it will determine whether the feel good or bad about themselves.

Unknown said...

I beleive that people naturally want to feel like they are in the right place, and to do that must belong in some sort of group. In that group they feel accepted and understood, so they feel good about themselves because they know that others are just like them. If they were in a group that they didn't belong in, then they would feel left out because they weren't like the others in that group.

Cherag said...

To feel good about themselves they have to be in a group. When I say this I mean that they can find a place of equality or comfort. I believe that culture and race plays a part in all of this too. People in a majority feel safer or more comfortable talking to their own people. Class and taste are also very good examples of why people like to feel good about them. There are limitations of what the less fortunate can buy whereas there are not who are plentiful with goods which sometimes separates based on ones background or nature of possession. A thing entirely to keep in mind is that people find that they have a place in life and that they mean something to someone in a group. This leads to people feeling good about themselves because they have a role in this world and that they have people who love them. It is the equilibrium that people find among themselves with others.

tricia said...

I agree that in order to feel accepted, you should belong to some group of people with whom you all share a common interests. Peple are by nature socially active, so if that trait is stripped from a person, they could lose their feeling of acceptance. Despite people striving to be individuals, it is of the upmost importance for someone to feel as though they belong. If nobody felt like they belonged, the whole world would be very sad, and us as humans would not have developed the way we did.

Unknown said...

I do believe people in the word tend to feel that they need to belong to a group in order to feel good about themselves. But in my case I disagree with the quote. I am perfectly fine with being my self because I can express my individuality. And that is why truly makes me happy. People tend to feel happy when they are in a group because they don't feel left out. But I am happy because I get to mix and be friends with all groups and still feel good about myself and not feel left out.