Technology has been considered one of the main drivers of social change in human society. It is believed to have had the greatest significant change on humans over thousands of years. In particular, it has been recognized that four innovations in technology were the most responsible for revolutions of societies in the past. First, the domestication of animals and plants solved the problem of food scarcity and famine, which increased the number of people on the Earth. Secondly, the invention of the the plow boosted food production and human health (Ogburn 1922). Thirdly, the invention of the steam engine improved transport and communication while the invention of the computer has led to the massive change in all societies. The purpose of this paper is to analyze social change within the context of communication technology. The discussion will take into consideration the innovation of computers as an example of technological and social change and in light of Ogburn’s processes of social change.
According to William Ogburn, observed changes in society have been observed because of technological innovations (Ogburn 1922). Specifically, his theory refers to three processes through which technology is perceived to drive social change in societies. These processes are invention, discovery, and diffusion (Heslin 2001). According to Heslin, Ogburn describes innovation as a combination and transformation of available materials into new and more usable forms. However, he argues that an invention can refer to the social invention as well as the dissemination and use of new ideas (Ogburn 1922). The innovation of the computer is perhaps the best example of innovation in the recent past, which has changed modern societies in a great way. For instance, the computer has come with communication technology, which has allowed people to propagate information and ideas within a remarkably short time and regardless of the distance between them. It has brought in the idea of social networking, which allows people to develop social groups, but whose individuals are located in different places.
According to Ogburn, discovery is a process of social change that refers to the new ways of understanding and perceiving reality. For instance, the discovery of computer technology has changed people’s ways of understanding the actual aspects of various phenomena. For example, computer technology has come with it the internet technology, an innovation that allows people to find information from a wide range of areas and various places. It has made people realize some information that would otherwise be impossible to obtain such as the actual events taking place in distant areas (Ogburn 1922).
According to Ogburn diffusion, the third process of social change in his theory refers to the distribution or spread of the invention or discovery from the point of invention/discovery to other areas. According to the theory, this spreading causes change in the societies involved in the exchange (Ogburn 1922). For instance, the computer technology and innovations developed over several years in America and Europe, right from the basic calculation inventions by Blaise Pascal, Charles Babbage, and others to the modern computers. However, the invention did not last there, rather it was diffused from these regions to other areas like Asia and Africa, where additional innovations and discoveries were developed. Consider, for example, how Japan and South Korea have taken serious computer innovations and discoveries, producing relatively different technologies than what came to them from America and Europe.
In conclusion, this computer innovation, discovery, and diffusion are an example of how a social change progresses over time, producing different social characteristics from what it was prior to the discovery. The computer is also an example of a social change that is both positive and negative. Computer technology is positive because it has enhanced communication, accounting, education, entertainment, innovation ad inventions, health, governance, and other areas. It is also negative because it has certain social impacts that are not desired in an ideal society, including internet-based pornography, the spread of propaganda, hacking, cybercrime, and other negative impacts.
References
Henslin, J (2001). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Ogburn, W. F. (1922). Social Change with Respect to Culture and Original Nature. New York, NY: B.W. Huebsch.