Social change is basically a structural alteration in a nation’s politics, the community, its economic system as well as institutions in creating better, equitable and just societies. Supporters of social change aim at the fundamental causes of significant social setbacks; these are homelessness, inequity and poverty.
This paper therefore aims at showing how life in the United States will change after ten years, explain how the internet might be involved in these changes and finally name three ways in which sociologists can use the internet to study life in the U.S.
There are a number of ways in which the social life in the United States can change in the next 10 years. Among many other ways which include discrimination, gender rights, technology, and rights for the disabled, sexual issues in the next ten years will be dominant. The rights of gay and lesbians will be widely accepted in the next ten years. This will be to an extent where it will be viewed as something common.
On gender issues, there are expectations of having a female president at the same time as having women in key posts in the government. There are even expectations of women making up more representations in the house and possibly the Senate.
Technologically, there will be great advancements which will enhance security, make work easier, and improve communication (make communication cheaper and readily accessible).
Because of this again, transportation will be made easier, individuals will have the opportunities to learn and even work from the comforts of their homes.
On areas of energy, there will be even better technology that will boost the use of alternative energy. “These will include the use of solar energy and the wind and subsequent decrease in the use of oil and electricity” (Harper, 2003).
Technology is a major constituent of social change. Without technology there will be very minimal realization of this. The internet is one technological division that is essential in social change. Security wise in the near future, controls and checking will most likely be stricter.
The internet, Information and Technology will be employed to work against any risks. “New hardware such as image scanners, body scanners, fingerprint ID images and other identity records such as permanent cards will probably be brought in and implemented as new research and invention come to the fore” (Wright, 2007). With the internet, there will be easy access of information concerning any perceived security threats.
The internet is a major constituent of any social changes because it has a major impact in communication. This is through cheap exchange of information and the ability to work and study from anywhere. The internet again is responsible for creating a world where people from anywhere can hook up for almost any reason in any given timeframe.
This allows incredible opportunities which are both beneficial and detrimental. In a synopsis, the internet has improved our life-spans while making many aspects of life easy and enjoyable; the internet also generates a fairly reliant, indolent, and superficial culture.
Sociologists have many ways in which they can use the internet to study life in the U.S. In one of the ways, they can study consumption rates from the internet. Through internet surveys, they can easily determine families’ daily, weekly and even monthly consumption rates on anything.
They can again establish the academic life of the people in the United States. On the internet again, sociologists are able to gauge the economic parameters especially the ones affecting the section of the society that regularly uses the internet, since not all life is based on the internet.
As shown by Giddens (2006) “money alone does not bring about change nor do individuals. But when people band together and form organizations to focus their collective power, social change happens”. This bases itself on the adaptation of the social order in a particular community\society.
References
Giddens, A. (2006). Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Harper, CL. (2003). Exploring social change. Engelwood Cliffs: New Jersey. Prentice Hall
Wright, A. (2007). Technology and Social Change. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.