How Ignorance Can be Social Death?,/ Being Ignored By Others is Like Social Death/ Social Exclusion,/ Ostracism, social rejection

 

Being Ignored By Others is Like Social Death/ Social Exclusion or Ostracism

rejection lead to loneliness

Yes, you read correctly that ignorance by others is like a social death. As human is a social animal, so he wants to be stay connected with the surrounding people. Social support is one of the basic needs of man. Threatened to basic need result in psychological problems. According to the researches, social rejection can lead to social death.

Terms use for ignorance are social rejection, social exclusion, and Ostracism.

Ostracism:

Ostracism is the act of ignoring or excluding a person, without any explanation, and in violation of the target individual‘s need for belonging (Williams, 2007a).

Ostracism occur when someone consciously fail to acknowledge the greetings of others, ignored the someone in a group by not responding to his questions or discussion, avoid seeing a person in a group. 

Need Threat Model of Ostracism By William

Williams explains Need Threat Model in three stages.

Stage 1 Immediate

In this initial stage individual response to ostracism is feeling hurting and pain. Individuals feel threatened by their basic needs of belongingness, self-esteem, and control. Individually feel that he is rejected by society, his capability to build a social relationship is declined and without belongingness and self-esteem, he cannot establish his control in society. According to researches, Immediate reactions to ostracism lead to loneliness and depression.

Stage 2 Coping

The next stage is the coping stage. Or we can say that it is an evaluation of the event stage. Individually find out the meaning and reasons of ignorance and if an individual is ostracized on merit then he will find out the ways to behave appropriately to fulfill the belongingness need.

Stage 3 Resignation

If the experience of ostracism continues to long terms the individual will to cope with the ostracism decreases and he or she is expected to experience hostility, depression, helplessness, and unworthiness (William, 2009b).

Different Perspectives on Ostracism or Social Exclusion

According to the evolutionary perspective individual need to belongingness is transferred from their ancestors. Human ancestors consider social exclusion or ostracism as a death sentence. Ostracized individuals being deprived of all the societal resources, facilities, and relations. It was done to show a “social boycott”.

According to the social-psychological perspective, ostracism is termed social exclusion or social rejection. This social exclusion or social rejection may be consciously or unconsciously. Immediate response to the lead to distress which according to William is a threat to individual survival needs. As humans are social creatures, they want to live in groups if they are rejected by their surrounding people it leads to loneliness.