SOCIAL CHANGE: FACTORS, TYPES AND REAL EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The social change is a sociological concept that represents the transformation of certain fundamental mechanisms of society. These changes are characterized by the alteration of social symbols, rules of behavior, intrinsic value systems of a society or the way in which social organizations are structured.

After a social change, the socialization processes change to adapt to the new characteristics of the environment. Individuals, active members of a society, become targets and agents of the same social changes. That is, it is the members of a society who cause changes and influence the rest to carry them out.

Throughout their lives, all individuals are subject to experiencing at least one type of social change. This is because a particular social order usually does not continue for more than a decade or two. Humanity is in a process of constant change and evolution.

Factors of social change

Social problems

Usually, a revolutionary movement generated to transform the order of the social structure of a country generates a great amount of changes to society.

A social revolution occurs when the members of a society express their dissatisfaction with the order of their life or simply want to seek a restructuring of society.

That is, social changes are usually caused by problems and lack of satisfaction of the members of a society. This type of dissatisfaction causes people to begin to hope that there will be a change and improve their lifestyle.

Therefore, they are collective and not individual changes; they must have the support of a large number of members of a society to take place. In this case, a social change is a collective effort to generate changes in a country, region or society.

Motives of a partnership

For a social change to take place it is important that the people who make up the society that needs the change coordinate with each other. This coordination should serve to explain the causes of discontent and provide a clear basis for the attempt at social change to be generated.

Therefore, these movements usually do not have a defined leader. Instead, they are the product of the collective effort of hundreds of people seeking change. There must be a common motive that makes a large number of people support the change, so that it can be carried out successfully.

Evolution

Not all social changes happen drastically. When a society develops over time, new technologies and points of view are generated.

This affects the way in which the general population carries out its daily activities; in the long term the changes are quite extensive, but are difficult to detect in the short term.

Needs

Social changes originate from basic needs demanded by the inhabitants of a community. These types of changes can be generated by a large number of failures within the system that negatively affect people's lives.

Those affected are usually those who are responsible for carrying out the change. For example, if a part of society is starving, it is they who must take the reins of the movement to demand a change in the system. However, those who are not affected can become part of the movement if they wish.

The most rapid social changes that have occurred throughout human history have often been the result of a lack of basic needs, such as food. In fact, these changes are often instigated by revolutions such as the French or the American.

Types

Social changes occur for two main reasons. The first concerns the natural causes of human evolution. That is, as a society progresses, it develops a new social identity.

The second reason is a revolutionary change, which is usually the most common in the history of mankind. These occur as a consequence of social crises.

Progressive natural changes

This type of change is related to the process of human evolution. They are slow and gradual processes that alter the course of a society little by little.

This is because the changes occur as a result of a process of adaptation to new ideas or technologies, which makes it not drastic.

This change is often represented in fashion styles or marital traditions. Some societies looked down on having relationships outside of marriage in the past; By changing these ideas progressively, a society evolves with social change in a natural way.

Drastic changes

The second type of change, which is also called "revolutionary", is the opposite of progressive change. When a social system changes in various aspects drastically and strongly enough to affect all members of a society, revolutionary social change is said to be taking place.

These changes do not happen gradually. A drastic change occurs at a specific moment in the history of a society and it does not take long to become fully effective. The American Revolution is a clear example of a drastic social change that occurred decades ago.

Real examples

farming

One of the most significant examples of social change in human history was the discovery of agriculture.

Thousands of years ago, when humans discovered that they were capable of sowing seeds to grow food, nomadic groups stopped migrating from one place to another to settle in one place and give way to large sedentary societies.

Egypt revolution

A more recent example of a drastic change was the so-called January 25 Revolution, popularly known worldwide as the Egyptian Revolution.

The Egyptian Revolution was a social movement that prompted the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak as a result of an increase in police brutality against civilians in Egypt. The social mobilizations were of such magnitude that it was possible to overthrow the president and call for elections again.

References

1. What is Social Change ?, Americans for the Arts, (nd). Taken from animatingdemocracy.org
2. Social Change, N. Wilterdink and W. Form for Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2017. Taken from Britannica.com
3. Social Change: Meaning, Types and Characteristics, Deeksha S, (nd). Taken from pshychologydiscussion.net
4. Major Social Changes, University of North Carolina Wilmington, (nd). Taken from uncw.edu
5. Social Movements and Social Change, BC Open Textbooks, (nd). Taken from opentextbc.ca
6. Egypt Uprising of 2011, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2017. Taken from Britannica.com