Social control is very essential for every society. Without social control, society as well as individual cannot exist. Therefore, the need of social control is very essential. Social control is necessary for the following reasons.
1. To maintain the old order:
It is necessary for every society or group to maintain its social order and this is possible only when its members behave In accordance with that social order. An important objective of social control is not to maintain the old order. Family helps in the realization of this objective. The aged members of the family enforce their ideas over the children.
2. To establish social unity:
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Without social control, social unity would be a mere dream. Social control regulates behavior in accordance with established norms, which brings uniformity of behavior and leads to unity among the individuals. The family maintains its unity because its members behave in similar manner in accordance with family norms.
3. To regulate or control individual behavior:
No two men are alike in their attitudes, ideas, interests and habits. Even the children of the same parents do not have the same attitudes, habits and interests. Men believe in different religions, dress differently, eat different food, marry in different ways and have different ideologies. There are so much differences in the ways of living of the people that at every movement there is the possibility of clash between them. In modern times, this possibility has all the more increased because man has become too self-centered. Social control is necessary to protect social interests and satisfy common need. If social control is removed and individual is left to behave freely, society would be reduced to state of jungle.
4. To provide social sanction:
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Social control provides social sanction to the social ways of behavior. There are numerous folkways, modes and customs prevalent in society. Every individual has to follow them. If an individual violets the social norms, he is compelled through social control to observe than. Thus, social control provides sanction to social norms.
5. To check cultural mal-adjustment:
Society is subject to change. New invention, new discoveries and new philosophies continue to take birth in society. The individual has to adjust his behavior to the change-taking place in society. But all the individuals cannot adjust themselves to the new conditions. Some become progressive, others remain conservative. When a person from the village moves into the city, he comes across new cultural standards and it is possible that he may wrongly adjust himself to the new cultural environment. He may become a save of passions, visit bar and pass nights in nightclubs. During this transitional period in his social control, it is very necessary lest he should become a deviant.