FAMILY IN THE KENYAN SOCIETY

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Family in the Kenyan society

The social life of any country and any people is essential in the manner in which they communicate and in the way in which they live. Through these social dimensions and contexts, we can learn what is of most importance to a person and how this can be utilized in learning about a particular culture and the society in which certain people live. The culture of that particular person also plays a huge role in understanding and evaluating what people are accustomed to and what is most important in their lives. In Kenyan society, culture role plays a vital role in forming how people live and interact. More importantly, the focus of the family’s social dimension helps us understand what it means for the Kenyan society when it comes to social media influence and its impact on the general form of the family unit.

In Kenyan society, the family is one of the most cherished and essential units and social life aspects. It is considered very important and a significant contributor to children’s education on society’s social aspect. This also informs us that society has expectations for the family to teach the children about the social norms and interactional rules. This is what forms the basis of the human person in the social aspect. In this regard, social media plays a massive role in helping the parents and the guardians develop the different and varied nature of social teachings that make a child socially acceptable within this Kenyan culture. Therefore this paper focuses on the Kenyan society family unit and how social media has a significant impact on this social domain of life‌ (Njue et al., 2007).

There has been a conflict of late regarding most teenagers’ social behavior within the Kenyan social system. Generally, everyone has been attributed to the vast westernization noticed in the country’s population. This is a big issue that affects the family dimension of the whole Kenyan culture and affects every aspect of the culture. This is a confusing social context of issues as some people try to be western. In contrast, others hold a very firm ground on the African social values and norms brought forth by the elders and the people of great honor and respect. Therefore we can say that the Kenyan family unit is wavering, and it is in a delicate situation on matters to do with social teaching and formation of the children.

Even though it is in the parents’ hands to decide what to teach their children, it is also upon the society to decide what required and desired formation tenets are required and how they directly influence a person’s social life. For example, the social context of a society requires that there be a balance between westernization and Africanization. This means that there is an encouragement for the people to embrace only the western culture, which is positive and sound rather than everything, which at times might come into conflict with the core African values of respect, love, kindness, and piety. Therefore it is upon these values that every family in the Kenyan society is based and formed onto. However, this does not always appear authentic as some family members and parents decide to view society from entirely different lenses. They teach their children what they believe and not what is expected of them from society (The Role of Media in the Family – Focus on the family, 2010).

Mass media and social media are a great reflection on the norms and values of Kenyan society’s family system. There are always programs to ensure that the children and the family members are in peace and that the social constructions are being followed. For example, most Kenyan culture still believes that men are superior to women as it is borrowed from the African elders’ culture. Therefore it is in this accord that the mass media tries to push this ideology of women serving men. In contrast, men provide for the society even though these social convictions and constructions are being watered down by westernization and the education system, which always has stressed women’s place in African society.

In most mass-media discussions, women’s place is very much discussed; however, this allies with the feminist approach to society, a borrowed concept of African life (Ochilo, 1993). However, the other group of mass media accounts focus on men’s role in providing for the family and making sure that the family is protected and safe. This is a significant role and is only preserved for men in the African society even though with few exceptions like in the case of widowed women(Njue et al., 2007). Through social media and mass media discussions, these concepts are enhanced whereby women are seen as the Kenyan family unit’s support system. At the same time, the man is the primary person who provides and owns the family. It is also the man responsible for paying school fees and providing shelter for the family. On the other hand, the women have the responsibility of home management and make sure that everything at home runs well, from children’s education on socially acceptable behavior to how the outsiders perceive that specific family.

In conclusion, therefore, we observe that the Kenyan society is of great importance and significance when it comes to its young ones’ social formation. However, a more critical aspect of this society is the family, which is the central formative unit and has a lot of impact and meaning to everyone within the Kenyan system.

References

Ochilo, P. J. O. (1993). Press freedom and the role of the media in Kenya.

‌Njue, J. R. M., Rombo, D. O., & Ngige, L. W. (2007). Family strengths and challenges in Kenya. Marriage & Family Review, 41(1-2), 47-70.

The Role Of Media In The Family – Focus on the Family. (2010, July 21). Focus on the Family. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/the-role-of-media-in-the-family/