Major Factors of Social Change

Society itself is a system, in which material and non-material objects are included. Factors of social change are those which influence the change in society. Society runs through the mutual interrelationship among various units of a social system. All the factors are not equally important in influencing the process of social development.

Those factors are as follows:

• Population (Demographic Factor)
• Social Organization
• Physical Environment
• Technology
• Cultural Factor

Demographic Factor:

• Population patterns also play a part in social change.30 years ago in our Nepali society the number of children was more than 6/7 but today 3 child is average, people are shifting from join to Nuclear family structure.
• Migration within and among societies is another demographic factor that promotes changes.
• For example- the government of Nepal started the Malaria Eradication program in the Terai region of Nepal, thousands of people from the hill and mountain of Terai began to migrate. As a result of the indigenous population of Terai like Tharu, Rajbanshi displaced from their native farmland.
• Similarly in Kathmandu Valley, more than ten thousand people from different districts use to enter every year.

Impact of Demographic Factor in Social change:

• Overpopulation in City area
• High competition in Jobs
• Increasing Criminal activities.
• The concept of Heterogeneous culture
• Losing the concept of kinship and close working relationship.
• Pollution

Social Organisation

• Social Organization – Inkeles and Smith, American sociologists, conducted in-depth interviews in six developing countries, seeking to find out what made some persons respective to change??
• They found that some persons had a general ‘modernity syndrome’ and that such a person was likely to have worked in the factory, to have had several years of education, and to read a newspaper.
• Similarly, The average old people in rural Nepal have strong Superstition, evil practices, caste system, etc.
• European people believe in a Love marriage where Nepali prefers to Arrange marriage while observing current scenario youth favor love for marriage(media/education and movie inspire them)
• Similarly, the society which gives great authority to the very old people, as classical china did for centuries, is likely to be conservative and stable.

Physical Environment:

• The physical environment can be a major source of social change.
  Eg- Landslide because of Deforestation.
• Pollution leads to different diseases and climate change.
  When a group moves to a new climate, social life must adjust accordingly.
• Industrialization draws people from home to factory.
  Sometimes a human activity can change the climate. (overgrazing of animals and over-harvesting of Firewood).
• People living in difficult geographic areas such as mountains, rivers, and valleys are much more difficult to unify in one society than those living on a large plain.

Technology:

• Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to making the tools to solve specific problems.
• Due to the advanced technologies at present, people have been succeeded in landing on the moon.
• Today drastic change in human life has been felt due to technological advancements such as industries, factories, electricity, medical science, means of communication, computer science, automobiles, airplanes, radio, television, cell phones, modems, fax machines have brought major advance changes to the world. (by maximizing the amount of production, goods, and services)
• In the 20th century technology has completely changed the way people meet, interact, learning, working, playing, traveling, worshipping, etc.

Impact of technological Changes in Society:

• Technologies such as Gas and Electricity promote healthy human life.
• Industrialization- Technology has contributed to the growth of industries or the process of industrialization.
• Urbanization – Urbanization can be described as a process of becoming urban moving to cities changing from agriculture to other pursuits common to cities and the corresponding change of behavior patterns.

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