Social Change — Sociology STD 11 Commerce / Arts — Question

1. A single factor may trigger a particular change, but it is almost associated with other factors like physical, biological, technological, cultural, social, economic, which may together bring about a social change.

2. This is due to mutual interdependence of social phenomenon.
Example : A huge increase in school fees will have an impact on student enrolment. It may further result in higher dropouts especially for the girl child from the system of school. Increase in school fees is an economic factor which may give rise to social factor like problems of girls dropout.

Technological factor of social change:

1. Today, as we live in a digitalized world, we have been increasingly loaded with technology from our homes to our workplace.
2. Technological changes have affected our social, economic, religious, political, and cultural life.
3. Technological development creates new conditions of life and new conditions for adaptation. It continues to be an index of the overall progress of society.

Example : During the British period in India, systems of transportation and communication were laid. These may have served the needs of colonizers then, but we still continue to benefit from the systems.

Dysfunctional of social system:

1. The social system may become dysfunctional at times.
2. Hence, human beings have to make conscious efforts to help bring stability, balance and equilibrium in society.

Example : Emile Durkheim makes reference to anomic suicide where there is a state of normlessness or chaos, which can trigger off suicidal feelings that makes the social system dysfunctional.

Change in performance of social roles of individuals is also social change:

1. The social system comprises of social institutions like education, government, economy, etc., they regulate human contact, allocate roles and provide resources.
2. Social change also refers to change in performance of social roles of individuals according to changing times.

Example : In today’s Information Age, the role of a teacher in school is radically different than it was during the early Vedic period. There was marked differences in terms of the size of the school, learners, content of education, educational philosophy, methods of teaching and evaluation, etc.