Topic > Sociological Imagination: Interpreting Private Concerns and Public Issues

To understand the world we live in, we must first gain a broader view of ourselves and understand the structured thinking and behavioral patterns influenced in society. The sociological imagination was first developed by C. Wright Mill in the 1950s to aid "awareness of the relationships between personal experience and the larger society." While individuals think that their problems are specific to them, sociology examines the social pattern on a larger scale in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.” it was Mill's way of understanding the link between personal difficulties and broader social issues. This means telling us how individuals must change their perspective rather than simply looking through the tunnel of their own crisis. Mills wants to inspire society not to keep their situations locked in a jar, but rather to open them up and see them as a potential larger problem for society. Through C. Wright Mills' interpretation of private problems and public issues, the relationship between the two is very similar. Most private concerns arise from public issues, whether individuals are aware of them or not. Personal problems are what an individual may feel is their own experience caused by their behavior or failures which may lead them to blame themselves for their struggle. Public issues are what the society is mostly faced with due to the social structure and culture of the society, which is reflected as a social issue that affects many individuals. An example of private problems versus public problems is that a couple may be having financial difficulties with young children, house repayments, or other financial demands, but yet feel that this is a personal problem since it is their business. Whereas the economy may be in a financial crisis as a whole, yet we prefer to blame the victim rather than blame the system. A good friend of mine was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa a few years ago because he had been bulimic for many years during his teenage years. This caused a lot of mental health problems and drastically lowered his self-esteem when he started using social media. I believe the public issue here is the demand on young women's bodies to reach a particular cultural standard because of beliefs about how women should look to be appreciated. Teens suffering from eating disorders may feel isolated and think this is their battle, but society's pressure on cultural body standards is to blame. Not only are young women who feel the need to be curvy like a Kardashian, but men may also feel the need to be fit with sculpted bodies to make them seem more attractive to young women. With our society becoming increasingly open to sexuality and gender/transgender, the expectation to "fit in" is much higher due to the amount of likes you will receive on a photo. This pressure that society is creating is causing harmful effects for the younger generation, resulting in another public problem of suicide. Through Emile Durkhiem's ​​study on suicide, his findings on anomic suicide help us identify if an individual feels disconnected from society due to a feeling of not belonging, this shows us that the private problem of,.