Social Change

Meaning and definition of social change, nature and characteristics of social

change, modernization, industrialization, information and technology.
Social disorganization and social problems (over population, poverty,
unemployment, corruption and black money)

Meaning and definition of social change

Social change occurs in all societies. No society remains completely static. This
is true of all societies, primitive as well as civilized. The population changes,
technologies expand, material equipment changes, ideologies and values take on
new components. The speed and extent of change may differ from society to
society.

The word “change” denotes a difference in anything observed over a period of

time. Social change, therefore, would refer to the observable differences in any
phenomenon over a period of time. Change is the law of nature. What is today
shall be different from what it would be tomorrow. The social structure is subject
to incessant change. Family and religion or any social institutions will not remain
the same during as it is now. Individuals may strive for stability, societies may
create the illusion of permanence, the quest for certainty may continue unabated,
yet the fact remains that society is an ever-changing phenomenon, growing,
decaying, renewing and accommodating itself to changing conditions and
suffering vast modifications in the course of time.

Social Change can also re alternatively referred to as the growth, progress,

evolution, revolution, adaptation, accommodation

Nature and characteristics of social change

The main characteristics of nature of social change can be pointed out below:

a) Social change is a universal phenomenon.

b) Social change is community change.
c) Speed of social change is not uniform.
d) Social change is continuous.
e) Social change is temporal.
f) Social change is environmental
g) Nature and speed of social change is affected by and related to time
factor.
h) Social change occurs as an essential law
i) Definite prediction of social change is not possible.
 j) Social change shows-chain reaction sequence.
k) Social change results from the interaction of a number of factors.
l) Social changes are mostly the result of modification or of replacement.

Modernization

Modernization refers to the transformation from a traditional, rural, agrarian

society to a secular, urban, industrial society. It is through the comprehensive
transformation of industrialization that societies become modern. Modernization
is a continuous and open-ended process. The most evident result of modernization
are improvements in human well-being in areas such as health, education, safety,
cities, work, standard of living and leisure.

Modern society is industrial society. Modernization is the process of improving

things to be closer to the current state of the art. It involves catching up to progress
that has occurred in areas such as efficiency, productivity, quality of life and risk
reduction.

Following are the illustrative examples of modernization:

a) Technology
Infrastructure, platforms, systems, applications, robotics, machines
and devices that are more efficient, faster, lower risk and better at
achieving your goals

b) Energy
Energy sources that are cheaper and has lower impact on the
environment

c) Transportation
Transportation methods that move people quicker, cheaper, faster
and safer with less impact on the environment

d) Processes
Business processes and practices improve with time as innovative
ideas are disseminated, tested and adopted. It is common to regularly
benchmark processes against the competition to see if you are
missing out on a better approach

e) Products and Services

In some industries, products and services are rapidly improved such
that firms must modernize their products several times a year
 f) Organizational Culture
Transforming your norms, values and expectations as an
organization to match change in your society

g) Quality of life
Improvements in human well-being in areas such as health,
education, safety, cities, work, standard of living and leisure

Industrialization

Industrialization is the period of social and economic change that transforms a

human group to an industrial society from an agrarian society, involving the
extensive manufacturing reorganization of an economy. Industrialization requires
many key elements to grow on a significant scale.

In Sociology, industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and

machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high
capacity for division of labor. They are often in contrast with the traditional
societies. While on the other hand the process of industrialization has improved
productivity and allowed for mass production, which has increased standards of
living. Through industrialization, we have seen more goods produced in less time,
increased time for recreation and leisure, and an increase in real incomes.

Pros of industrialization:

a) Goods became more affordable and more accessible

b) The rapid evolution of labor saving inventions
c) The rapid evolution of medicine
d) Enhanced wealth and quality of life of the average person
e) The rise of specialist professions

Cons of Industrialization:

a) Overcrowding of cities and industrial towns

b) Pollution and other environmental illness
c) Poor working conditions
d) The rise in unhealthy habits

There are first three industrial revolutions that transformed our modern society.
With each of these three advancements, the steam engine, the age of science and
mass production and the rise of digital technology, the world around us
fundamentally changed. And right now, it’s happening again, for the fourth time,
the renewable energy.

Causes of social change can be explained in the following points:

Biological factors, Physical factors, Technological factors, Cultural factors

a) Strain and conflict

No society is free from conflicts. Any effort to resolve the conflicts
would result in some form of change.
b) Social problems
Problems like prostitution, unemployment, beggary etc., involve a
good deal of social conflict which causes some social change. The
social problems are caused due to some internal deficiencies. If these
problems are tackled, it may contribute to social change.
c) Cultural change
Cultural innovation causes social change. The amalgamation of
culture within society and from one society to another is a source of
social change.
d) Social environment
Change of political parties, military rule, trade shifts can create
adjustment problems in the existing social system.
e) Non-social environment
Changes like soil erosion, deforestation, floods, earthquakes,
cyclone, etc., can cause social change.

Information and Technology

Information technology is building communications networks for a company,

safeguarding data and information, creating and administering databases, helping
employees troubleshoot problems with their computers or mobile devices, or
doing a range of other work to ensure the efficiency and security of business
information. The field of information technology or IT, covers the support,
administration, and design of telecommunications and computer systems. The
work of most of the organizations would slow to a crawl without functioning IT
systems.
Examples of information technology:

a) Telephone and radio equipment

b) Video conferencing equipment
c) Personal computers, laptops, tablets
d) Performance management software for managing goal setting and
performance review.
e) Content management software for blogging and collaboration

Technology has profoundly altered our modes of life. Technology has not spared
the social institutions of its effects. The institutions of family, religion, morality,
marriage, state, property have been altered. Modern technology in taking away
industry from the household has radically changed the family organization.

Social disorganization and social problems

Social disorganization is the process opposed to social organisation.

Emile Durkheim defined social disorganisation as “a state of disequilibrium and

a lack of social solidarity or consensus among the members of a society”.

Social disorganisation refers to serious maladjustments in society so that they fail

to satisfy the needs of the individuals satisfactorily. Social disorganization
therefore, is to be considered in terms of functional disequilibrium. It is
disequilibrium within customs, institutions, groups, communities and societies.

Social disorganization can be of three types:

a) Individual disorganisation
b) Family disorganisation
c) Community disorganisation

Characteristics of social disorganization:

a) Conflict of mores and of institutions

b) Transfer of functions from one group to another
c) Individuation
d) Change in the role and status of individuals
e) Inconsistency between expectations and achievements

Causes of social disorganisation:

a) Division of labour
b) Violation of social rules
 c) Industrialisation
d) Cultural Lag
e) Natural catastrophes
f) War
g) Maladaptation of inherited nature to culture
h) Biological factors
i) Political subordination

Social problems

Social problems are the conditions threatening the well-being of society. They
are situations or conditions which are regarded by society as threats to its
established ways or to its well-being and therefore needing to be eliminated or
alleviated.

According to Green, “A social problem is a set of conditions which are defined

as morally wrong by the majority or substantial minority within a society.”

Classification of social problem:

a) Economic social problems
b) Biological social problems
c) Psychological social problems
d) Cultural social problems