Technology and Social Change: Impact on Society

Technology and Social Change

Ever since prehistoric eras, technology has played a role in the lives of human beings. Mankind has invented and perfected means of communicating, traveling, manufacturing goods, curing ailments, growing food, constructing edifices, and meeting other needs using technology. Thus, one may claim that through technology, we have transformed our world (ITEA, 1996; ITEA, 2006). At present, all human activities are reliant on different machines, with technological dominance at a record level in the current era. For instance, automobiles have transformed how and where individuals live, and a colossal infrastructure encompassing roads, service stations, bridges, regulations, and insurance policies has developed around them. Technology impacts individual participation in the democratic process and, in turn, shapes what must be considered when preparing students to actively participate in democratic societies (Crowe, 2006).

Social change, most specifically, implies the involvement of a large number of individuals in group dealings and tasks that differ from the interactions and activities their parents — or even they themselves — participated in earlier (Vago, 1992). The word "society" may be used to describe a multifaceted network of relationship patterns wherein every member participates to different extents. Social relationships and behaviors undergo simultaneous modification. People encounter novel scenarios to which they must react. Such scenarios reflect factors like the introduction of new methods, new means of earning a livelihood, shifts in residence, novel inventions, social norms, and evolving concepts (Mutekwe, 2012).

Technology, in its most rudimentary sense, may be likened to social change. Technology's sociological importance lies in the fact that its value transcends the tool by a great degree. The forms of technology adopted by groups set the foundation for their respective non-material cultures. Indeed, technology even affects how individuals think and connect with one another (Stromquist, 2005).

Impact of Computers, Cell Phones, and the Internet

Berson and Whitworth (2003) state that the effect of technology and computers — both as an instructional subject and as a teaching technique — on the field of social studies is enormous. Technology-oriented learning can aid the development of students' problem-solving and decision-making abilities, communication skills, and data processing abilities (Yigit, 2013).

Social and geographical mobility, medicine, education, and business are the main areas in which the computer's effect is most greatly felt (World Bank, 2009). Doctors use computer technology to probe the human body's internal regions in order to assess the functioning of its many parts or to determine whether an operation is required. Surgeons are now able to operate on previously inaccessible brain regions and even on unborn babies (King, 1994). Microchips herald ever greater technological marvels in the future. In the academic arena, the computer continues to work wonders: nearly all American schools have introduced computers to students of all grade levels and taught them to type and use scientific and mathematical software applications. Quality academic programs utilize game-like teaching formats to help students engage without realizing they are learning. The internet and personal computers have also transformed social relations within organizations at a profound level (Mutekwe, 2012).

Equilibrium Model, Digital Divide, and Cultural Lag

The social equilibrium theory addresses modifications occurring in a particular segment of society, along with the adjustments required in other segments. Failure to make those adjustments may threaten social equilibrium and give rise to problems. Web users are able to interact with people from distant areas. However, this can generate new disparities, as economically disadvantaged individuals are excluded from certain sociological events and are geographically restricted in terms of available jobs, educational prospects, and healthcare opportunities (Howard, Busch, & Sheets, 2010).

According to the conflict perspective, change is critically important because it is needed to correct social wrongs and disparities. With the growth in internet, computer, and smartphone use, some members of society believe these technologies ought to be regulated on account of "cultural lag" — defined as what occurs within societal systems when the cultural concepts used to regulate social life fail to keep pace with other societal shifts (Howard, Busch, & Sheets, 2010). The concepts of the digital divide, conflict approach, and cultural lag are all connected to the internet's effect on society, since each deals with social disparities between web users and non-users. The term "digital divide" represents the growing gulf between less fortunate societal members — including those living in poverty, the elderly, and rural dwellers — who may lack access to computers or the internet, and the urban affluent and middle class. An increasing number of people from diverse racial backgrounds are now gaining access to the internet and computer ownership (Howard, Busch, & Sheets, 2010).

Conclusion

Technological evolutions inevitably cause cultural and lifestyle changes. Some individuals view change as a threat — for example, the 18th–19th century industrial revolution, together with its automation drive, adversely impacted numerous manual laborers' livelihoods, rendering them jobless. Thus, some individuals embrace new technology while others resist it. Furthermore, social change has been recognized as unavoidable for society because of processes such as cultural interaction and its related effects, globalization, the information superhighway, cultural diffusion, and cultural leveling (Mutekwe, 2012).

Communication advancements are equally enormous. Communication was once restricted to direct one-on-one conversations and visual cues such as light reflected off mirrors, smoke signals, and hand-written, hand-delivered messages. Today, electronic communication conveys messages worldwide within seconds and enables us to learn immediately about events occurring on the other side of the globe. Communication and travel have fused so closely that the very concept of "the other side of the globe" has virtually vanished. This has resulted in cultural leveling — the process by which cultures become increasingly similar as the globalization of capitalism has brought both Western culture and technology to the remaining regions of the world (Mutekwe, 2012).

Bibliography

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