The document explores the concept of social problems, emphasizing that these issues evolve over time and vary across societies, highlighting examples such as discrimination, poverty, and deviant behavior. It discusses criteria for defining a social problem, including public perception, a gap between social ideals and reality, collective concern, and the potential for solution through action. The influence of media and ideology on identifying and framing social problems is also addressed, with a focus on how societal perceptions can shape responses to these issues.

1. Understanding and conceptualising “Social
Problems”

2. Social Problem
 Discrimination – technology- face detection or
colour of skin detection sensors not detecting
dark colours.
 Discrimination can occur in ways we don’t realize.
We think we do not discriminate BUT an
experiment conducted outside a bank showed
people clutching to their belongings more
protectively when a black man approached them
but didn’t have the same reaction when white
men approached them. (All claimed to be
absolutely non-discriminating in their behavior)

3. In the late twentieth century a list of current
social problems might include poverty,
homelessness, child abuse, disaffected young
people and non-attendance at school, school
discipline, the treatment of vulnerable people
in institutional care, vandalism, road rage, lone
parenting and divorce.
That fact – the capturing of public interest, anxiety or
concern – is probably the best place to start this
discussion, since it suggests that one answer to what
is ‘social’ about a social problem is that such
problems have gained a hold on the attention of a
particular society at a particular time.

4. There is a point in stressing the word
‘particular’ here. Other societies may be
preoccupied by other problems: what
commands public attention in
Germany, the USA or China is likely to
be different in at least some respects to
what is a current social problem in
Nepal. It is also true that if we looked
back at earlier historical periods, only
some of the list of current social
problems would be visible then.

5. Social problems change with time -
One is that social problems change. If in the
late nineteenth century there were no
homeless people, then we would not expect
homelessness to have been discussed as a
social problem.
The second reason is that what is perceived as
a social problem may change.

6. Writing in the 1950s, the American sociologist
C. Wright Mills (1959, pp. 7–10) drew a distinction
between ‘personal troubles’ and ‘public issues’.
He suggested that although there were many
‘troubles’ or ‘problems’ that individuals
experienced in their lives, not all of these emerged
as ‘public issues’ which commanded public interest
and attention or which were seen as requiring
public responses (‘what can we do about X?’).
Mills's use of the term ‘personal’ may be slightly
misleading, since it implies that it is the difference
between individual and collective experience that
matters.

7. For us, however, the important distinction is
between issues that are ‘private’ (that is, to be
handled within households, families or even
communities) and those which are ‘public’ (that is,
to be handled through forms of social intervention
or regulation).
One factor that may make a difference to whether
things are perceived as private troubles or public
issues is scale or volume.
If only a few people experience some form of trouble,
then it is likely to remain a private matter and not
attract public concern. If, however, large numbers of
people begin to experience this same trouble – or
fear they might – it may become a public issue.

11. Essential medicines are not luxury goods,
reserved for the wealthiest of the world…
…but are too often priced like them,
causing preventable suffering and death.

12. What is ‘social’ about a
social problem?

13. Defining social problem-
 A generic term applied to the range of conditions
and aberrant behaviours which are held to be
symptoms of social disorganisations and to
warrant changing via means of ‘social
engineering’.
 Typically, these problems include many forms of
deviant behaviour. Such as crime, juvenile
delinquency, prostitution, mental illness, drug
addiction, suicide, ethnic tensions, domestic
violence, industrial strife and so forth.
Reference- OFDS

15. Nature of ‘Social Problems’
 Society’s ability to order relationships among
people seems to be falling.
 Its institutions are faltering its laws are being
flouted, the transmission of its values is
breaking down.
 The framework of expectations are being
shaken.

16. Social Problems
Social
Disorganisation Deviant behaviour
Collective Actions Individual Actions
When deviant behaviours such as theft,
kidnappings, substance abuse, increases in
numbers and leads to social disorganisation.
What happens when there is increase in the number of
homeless people?, when number of school dropouts
increases?, when the gap between the haves and haves not
keep increasing?

20. Determining a Social Problem
How do we define a social problem?
How do we identify a social problem?
What is done to maintain social order and solve social
problems?
- Invest on security, police, weapons etc.
or
A more equitable society. (human security approach
FREEDOM IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR PEOPLE
WHO HAVE NOTHING TO LOOSE

22. How do we define a social problem?
How do we identify a social problem?
 Not all social conditions become elevated to the
status of “ social problem”
For example, some objective conditions which exist
today not all of them are considered social-
problems.

23. Social Problems vary in time and space.
There is a general agreement that four conditions must
be met before an objective reality in the greater society
becomes elevated to the special status of ‘social
problems’
They are as follows-

24. 1-
The objective condition must be perceived to be a
social problem publicly. i.e. There must be some
public out cry. People must become actively
involved in discussing the problem.
Public attention becomes directed towards that
social condition.

25.  2-
The condition must involve a gap between social
ideals and social reality. i.e. The condition must
run counter to the values of the larger society.
Suppression of women under Taliban,
Alcohol use – Social problem?
Marketing cigarettes?
Gender discrimination

26.  3-
A significant proportion of the population must be
involved in defining the problem ( a large
proportion of the people must be concerned
about the condition). It has national attention.
If only a small segment of the population gets
involved you have an interest group pushing for
the general public to do something about the
condition – not a social problem.

27. 4-
The condition must be capable of solution through
collective action by people. If no solution is perceived
possible, people will resign themselves to their fate.
Bureaucracy-

29. GENDER DIVISIONS OF TIME PATTERNS IN SRI LANKA
PEAK SEASON SLACK SEASON
Male Female Male Female
HOUSEHOLD TASKS
FETCHING
WATER/WOOD
SOCIAL/RELIGIOUS
TASKS
LEISURE/SLEEP
AGRICULTURAL
LABOUR
90 199
30 50
8 12
294 160
298 299
60 220
30 60
15 15
370 190
245 235

30. Gender, work and time allocation

31.  The process of commoditisation of health is closely
tied to the “free market ideology” of globalization. In
today’s rapidly globalizing world,

32. Some other factors leading to perceiving a
phenomenon as a social problem
If people affected by a condition are influential or
powerful the condition is more likely to be considered
a social problem than if those affected are not
influential-
Terrorism- for whom, Rambo,
Drug addiction- for whom
Malnutrition-

33.  A condition affecting a relatively small segment of the
people is less likely to be considered a social problem
than if it has adverse effects on a much larger
segment of society.
 A rapid increase in the number of people affected by a
social condition is also important-perhaps even as
important as the number of people affected.

34.  The mass media also plays an important role in the
selection and definition of social problems. It gives
selective attention to certain conditions. The liberal
press will highlight certain issues while the
conservative press will select others.

35.  Ideology plays an important role in determining which
conditions are singled out as social problems.
 Ideology also determines how a social problem is
defined.

36. Population growth seen from two
 People have many children so they are poor.
 People are poor so they have many children.

37. I am against poverty , but I
am not really bothered by
inequality.

38.  The dominant paradigm of proliferating blame the
victim ‘life-style’ theories which emphasize
individual’s responsibility to choose so called healthy
life-styles and to cope better with stress is paramount.

39.  Poverty results from inability or weak character is still
abounded and this thought process has affected the
think tanks, consultants and policy makers.

40.  “How much good does it do to treat people’s illness
only to send them back to the same conditions that
made them sick ?”.