In simple words, the symbolic interactionism theory tells us that a human being co-habituates both in the natural and the symbolic environment. While the natural environment tells us how to behave in a certain social setting, the symbolic environment makes us who we are today. The best way to understand how symbolic interactionism works is to understand how individuals interact between after being influenced by the symbols around us.
If somebody asks what symbolic interactionism means to me, the first time I experienced it would be in front of a public washroom. Ever since I remember, a stick figure with a dress or a symbol pertaining to the woman meant that it was the woman's washroom and the exact opposite for the men's washroom. I had been so used to this that if ever I went to a hotel or a mall where the washrooms were the slightest level of confusing, I just didn't know what to do. Little did I realize that this would just be the beginning of how symbolic interaction would play with my life.
Then came the era of being hooked on the super-hit American sitcom, "F.R.I.E.N.D.S". What they said was funny to me. No matter how problematic the jokes were, I had begun to think that these were the jokes that were funny. It was only until later that I realized that the jokes I used to laugh to, the jokes I thought were "cool", were in fact, dangerously problematic. It took me a lot of socially constructed shows to understand that the shows I adore, did indeed have a lot of issues with them.
Perhaps, the biggest role symbolic interaction played in my life would be the innumerable gender issues I have faced and is still facing. When a girl child is born in India, she is told to behave a certain way, talk a certain way, and even live a certain way. Thankfully, I never had to deal with this as my parents were pretty progressive that way. Neither have they ever told me to "behave like a girl" nor told me that "this is how a girl should be". But, that's not how the society works, is it? Every single chance they have got, the community around me has reminded me that I am a girl, and I can't do certain things. Knowingly or unknowingly, this has influenced me to a great extent that somewhere in my life, I still think twice when I have to do something that an Indian girl would not normally do.
Having said all this, what I have understood is that no matter how hard you try, symbol interactionism will creep into your life and will end up playing the role of that one Indian uncle in every family who will influence you throughout your life, even if you do not want that to happen.
