This week, after going over culture and all of the different aspects of it regarding the components of culture, the variations, types of norms, and how those norms are enforced. I thought it would be interesting to find something that related to the aspect of that and how it affects the culture itself from person to person, specifically in America. Culture is something that is learned and passed down throughout generations through communication and the teachings from one to another. It is something that as someone who is used to these norms, it doesn’t seem different, abnormal, or weird by any aspect because that is what they are used to and all that they have known to act like and what is considered normal in their culture. Coming from another point of view or from another culture, it may not be like that and when traveling, seeing people do certain things, may cause culture shock and maybe make an individual realize how different culture really is from one place to the next.
In my source, they are talking about American norms and how it is passed down from one generation to the next. In this video, the mom is out in public with her kids at a Starbucks and is trying to teach them a sense of “personal space”. By definition, personal space is “the region surrounding a person which they regard as theirs psychologically.” She shows her kids this by pulling them away from strangers in public when they are standing relatively close to them to a point where it may be uncomfortable to one individual or both. In America, personal space, for most people, is a known thing unconsciously that people do out of comfort, common courteously, and something that is considered normal. In this video, the mother states that she wants her kids to be compassionate, kind, respectful and that the idea of personal space falls right along with reading and math. Being in consideration of other people and their personal space is what she believes is the right thing to do and that is important enough to teach her kids starting at a young age. The narrator mentions that of all cultures on the planet, American’s need the most personal space. Thinking more in-depth about personal space, it would be considered extremely uncomfortable and abnormal for someone to come to stand right next to you in line at the grocery store, or in line to get food, or at the park. Personal space is considered a norm in America and most people encounter it completely unconsciously without having to think about it and being aware of it.
Word count: 446
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=90&v=GwEFzzArqhM
Jamie's Blog 