Social Change
Social Change in the Society
Social change is the transformation of the social order in the community by making adjustments and variations to social institutions, behavior, and relations. It involves social evolution where the society makes amendments to traditional societal norms leading to the necessary change.
Social Change
What is Social Change?
Change is an enduring historical force with noticeable variations through. Change may be hardly discernible or easily observable; it may be constructive or destructive; but whatever its nature it occurs everywhere and every time.
Change has been regarded in many ways- as means, process, an end, or even a social movement, a state of affairs involving a program, an ideology, and a problem. The use of new objects or ideas to reach a certain goals.
Importance of Social Change
Social Change leads to increased awareness and more understanding due to the presence of more information in the community, which enables people to make informed decisions based on the scenario at hand.
Meaning of social change:
'Social' means 'concerning society' and 'change' means 'deviation from existing pattern'. In this sense social change means change in the structure and functions of human society.
In fact human life is not static. It is under a constant change in the ideas, attitudes and values of an individual.
Is Social Change Necessary?
Social change is morally right. There are a lot of social injustices and inequalities that we need to address to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to live happy lives...Social change may include changes in nature, social institutions, social behaviors, or social relations.
Major factors for social change
Sociologists have outlined five major factors for social change. These include: psychological, biological, physical and technological factor and culture. Sometimes the changes in social structure triggered (to be the cause of a sudden, often a violation reactions; to start something) by these factors may be so disturbing that the present institution and other means of social control can no longer work effectively. These events result in social disorganization. Factors of social disorganization at a particular period are usually highly interrelated, making it difficult to find which factor is the predominant one. More specific events that may lead to negative social change may include the changing structure of the family, the increasing importance of the central government and the lowering standards of morality.
How and why does social change happen?
Social change evolves out of past social practices, it represents a response by those in society to maintain social order by seeking an acceptable balance between stability and change; and it is influenced by the distribution of power and control over resources, which shapes what changes do or do not occur. Technological innovation has played a powerful role causing social change.
What factors shape the success of a social movement?
There needs to be a sense of relative deprivation in which people have a sense that injustice exists that can and should be challenged. In addition, people must have the capacity to mobilize resources to bring about the change they seek.
What does it mean to practice sociology?
Personal sociology involves better understanding the influences social factors have on out thoughts and actions and using information to our advantage. Public sociology means taking responsibility for the collective impacts our individual actions have in shaping society and opportunity and working for positive social change.
Causes of Social Change
Social change is brought about not by one factor alone. To be considered are interplay of various social and non-social factors like geographical location, topography of the land, climate, soil type, plant and animal life, and other natural resources, the people's motor skills and other abilities, technology, philosophical, religious, moral and ethical values, beliefs, social organization, and other social norms. It is not only the occurrence and combination of these factors in a given situation at a given time that brings about social change. It is also important to take into account their synchronization harmony, correlation or reciprocity, coordination or unity, and strains, stresses, dysfunctions.
The physical environment does not by itself cause social or culture change. It provides conditions that may or may not induce change. History gives innumerable example of the physical environment on change. Natural disaster have periodically disrupted life for large populations - loss of life, destruction of property, migration patterns, reorientation to different life styles.
Nature of Change
- Social change is modification or transformation of public policy, culture, or social institution over time.
- Social change is an ongoing process that continuously occurs and it is differed and varied from time to time also depend on each society.
- Change cannot be control and it is occurred in every situation in order to develop society.
- Change is found everywhere and it is becoming a part of our life.
- Change can be manifest (visible) or latent (invisible) modification in social experience and it composed with five interrelated component which are identity, level, duration, magnitude (scale) and rate.