Effect of technology on social change

1. SOCIAL CHANGE AND TECHNOLOGY
Day by day our society is changing and the social change may be defined as the gradual change
of the elements of the society. Social change has different views from different sight. There are
some theories in regard of social change – Evolutionary, Functionalist and Conflict theory. In
Evolutionary theory sociologists say that biological influence is one of the causes of social change.
As time is going on the mentality of human being is diversifying. In this way the phenomenon of
society is changing by human behavior. From the Functionalist theory none can know elaborately
about social change as sociologist focus on what maintains society. And the Conflict theory is fully
opposite from it.
But many people are tensed about social change. Economic and cultural factors are one of the
important components for the resistance of social change. For example you can see that there are
many cultured people in our society. They have different types of taste. So what one wants to do
may be uneasy to another. Economic condition can also makes resistance on the way of social
change. There are both poor and wealthy people in our society. The poor can’t adapt with the
modern world. So they are deprived of modern things and for this their mentality can’t be changed.
These may be some resistances on the way of social change.
Technology is closely related to social change. Technology works for human satisfaction. As
time is going on it continues to enrich itself. It introduces us to the modern inventions and
discoveries. For this our focus is going on those matters and we try to practice those in our daily
life. By this our mentality become changed and that’s why our society changed. So it can make
biological influence. So technology may be said as the key to social change.
Technology has some constructive and some destructive sight. In the case of constructive sight
the examples are electricity, computer, aero plane, automobile, television, telephone etc. Another
extraordinary contribution of it is in the sector of biotechnology. It has given a dimension to our
society. It makes our mind to think differently and to make our society changed. There are some
examples of social change – for a few years it is seen that the using of mobile phone is rapidly
increasing and even the rickshaw pullers also use mobile phones. Therefore the farmers, fishermen
and other minor businessmen also use mobile phones for their commercial purposes although we
saw them previously in communication problem. We are now seeing television and even computer
in villages. Previously when television came in Bangladesh on Friday the wealthy family of a
village took it from the city and the people from different villages come to see their desirable
drama or cinema and the channel was only BTV. But now there are varieties of channels and
anyone can see those channels that they want. Internet is another medium of social change.
In the case of destructive sight we can say that we are not always convey the good prospects
of the technology. We frequently disobey the better prospect of it and convey the nastiest. With

2. the internet people are now well known with the life style of western culture. Of course it has some
good effect but people become the follower of the bad sight more. Already we can see the effect
in society. Divorce is now becomes a common phenomenon in educated society and this creates
pressure on the children. Therefore affray with petrol bomb in Bangladesh few months ago convey
the naked sight of technology and that affected the society.
So social change and technology are closely related to each other. We can now see young
boys with headphone in village that was unbelievable some years ago. This prospect can prove
social change with the development of technology.