What Influences Our Social Identity?

Who are you? Ask anyone and the answer comes back in social terms: their age, their gender, where their family comes from, the kind of work they do. These are not just labels. They shape how others see us, what doors open or close, and even how we see ourselves. Sociology calls these the aspects of social identity, and this topic asks how powerfully each one influences a person's life.

Here you will examine the four key aspects, age, gender, ethnicity and social class, and see how their impact differs from one society to another, so that the same characteristic can open or limit opportunities depending on where you live. You will then turn to a force that did not exist for previous generations: social networks, social media and virtual communities, and the way they can both enrich and damage our sense of who we are.