Analyze the response of Pakistani society to technological change and society.
Course: Citizenship Education and Community Engagement
Level: B.Ed Solved Assignment
ANSWER
Technological Change and its Impact on Pakistani
Society
Schools are undergoing a major
transformation as they transition to a digital learning environment. With greater opportunities to
access information, collaborate with peers and teachers, and create new types
of content, students are more engaged and have a stronger voice in their own
education. Teachers can use actionable information to personalize
learning based on individual student's learning needs and styles. In Pakistan technology
is greatly affecting our schools and community.
1.
Communication
Communication had been developing
even in the earlier days through the use of telephone and the use radio and
telegraph to exchange messages to distant places. Today, in
Pakistan the population has telephones as a means of necessity. Cellular phones
are also now very effective and efficient not just as an accessory but as a
guide to the everyday living of people. Many applications could be
installed into this small gadget that could give many uses. An example of these
applications is having a dictionary on the phone which is very helpful as a guide, and also the conversion of many measurements.
2.
Lifestyle
People are greatly affected by
the progress of technology and even everyone’s lifestyle also changes. People
live differently from how they are used to in the past years. When technology is
very reachable and human beings are very much willing to adapt to this kind of
technology, change is not a very impossible path. Technology has greatly
improved the way people are living. It develops the standard of living.
Every action of men corresponds to a
specific machine that could help men in one way or another. Examples of these are
computers which people are doing almost all electronic work. For leisure
time, as also discussed in our Future Technology subject, entertainment
concerning the gaming console is now in high definition that it is almost
like life like that you can easily be addicted to it. The music industry is
also at a greater pace in development. More and more developed machines are now more
capable of handling a greater amount of data in terms of music files. Gadgets are
also handling many features like having a screen for viewing the music video.
Technology also affects people in
many different ways. An example of this is how people work. Before, many
businesses did most of their transactions using only paper to list the day-to-day operations as well as the billings. Systems are now being developed and
highly utilized by businesses to make their processes more effective than the
traditional ways of doing it.
Doing business is also possible
even if not having a physical presence. Anyone can transact processes
online as long as he or she has a credit card or digital money. The web offers
many things that one could possibly imagine, from business to advertising and
also to communication and gaming. Businesses consist of buying things online
and selling products. Advertising also is in line with businesses.
Anyone can also book flights
through the use of the Internet. Learning had been also on the verge of fully
developing the use of technology by having its e-learning strategy. More and
more students are now having forums and discussions using the internet. Classes
are having their learning on the web. It is not necessary to be physically
present in the classroom to ensure said you are doing great in school. This is also
another way in which we can say that technology has greatly affected the way society behaves nowadays. Because of the changes that are brought about by
technology, people are conforming to it to be able to stay in the way with how technology
is moving.
3. Cause
of Skill Shortage is Complex
Skill shortages could be traced
back to the faulty educational system, the myopic policy of labor export, and
persistent technical change. Educational flaws stemmed from the poor curriculum,
inadequate teacher training, and low public and private investment in
education. The task of dealing with skill shortage is less urgent compared to
the depression of labor surplus. Of course, with fast-changing technologies, demand for new skills would render some existing skills obsolete.
4.
Industrialization
Technology has contributed to the
growth of industries or to the process of industrialization. Industrialization
is a term covering in general terms the growth in a society hitherto mainly
agrarian of modern industry with all its circumstances and problems, economic
and social. It describes in general terms the growth of a society in which a
major role is played by the manufacturing industry.
The industry is characterized by heavy, fixed capital investment in
plants and buildings by the application of science to industrial techniques and by mainly large-scale standardized production.
Industrialization is associated
with the factory system of production. The family has lost its economic
importance. The factories have brought down the prices of commodities, improved
their quality, and maximized their output. The whole process of production is
mechanized. Consequently, traditional skills have declined and a good number
of artisans have lost their work. Huge factories could provide employment
opportunities to thousands of people. Hence men have become workers in a very
large number. The process of industrialization has affected the nature,
character, and growth of the economy. It has contributed to the growth of cities
or to the process of urbanization.
5.
Urbanization
In Pakistan, the growth of industries has contributed to
the growth of cities. Urbanization denotes a diffusion of the influence of
urban centers on the rural surrounding areas. 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 in behavior patterns.
Hence, only when a large proportion of inhabitants in an area come to cities
urbanization is said to occur. Urbanization has become a world phenomenon
today. Unprecedented growth has taken place not only in the number of great
cities but also in their size. As a result of industrialization people have
started moving toward the industrial areas in search of employment. Due to
this the industrial areas developed into towns and cities.
6.
Modernization
Modernization is a process that
indicates the adoption of modern ways of life and values. It refers to an
attempt on the part of the people, particularly those who are custom-bound to
adapt themselves to the present time, conditions, needs, styles, and ways in
general. It indicates a change in people's food habits, dress habits, speaking
styles, tastes, choices, preferences, ideas, values, recreational activities, and
so on. People in the process of getting themselves modernized give more importance
to science and technology. Scientific and technological inventions have
modernized societies in various countries. They have brought about remarkable
changes in the whole system of social relationships and installed new ideologies
in the place of traditional ones.
7.
Development of the means of transport and communication
The development of transport and
communication has led to national and international trade on a large scale.
Road transport, the train service, ships, and airplanes have eased
the movement of men and material goods. Post and telegraph, radio and
television, newspapers and magazines, telephone and wireless, and the like have
developed a great deal. Space research and the launching of satellites
for communication purposes have further added to these developments. They have
helped people belonging to different corners of Pakistan or the world
to have regular contact.
8.
Transformation in the economy and the evolution of the new social
classes
The introduction of the factory
system of production has turned the agricultural economy into an industrial
economy. The industrial or capitalist economy has divided the social
organization into two predominant classes; the capitalist class and the working
class. These two classes are always in conflict due to mutually opposite
interests. Over time, an intermediary class called the middle class has
evolved.
9.
Unemployment
The problem of unemployment is a
concomitant feature of rapid technological advancement. Machines not only
provide employment opportunities for men but they also take away the jobs of
men through labor-saving devices. This results in technological unemployment.
10.
Technology and war
The dangerous effect of
technology is evident in the modern mode of warfare. The weaponry has
brought fear and anxiety to mankind. They can easily destroy the entire
human race and reveal how technology could be misused. Thus greater the technological
advancement the more risk for mankind.
11.
Changes in social institutions
Technology has profoundly altered
our modes of life. Technology has not spared the social institutions of its
effects. The institutions of family, religion, morality, marriage, state, and property have been altered. Modern technology in taking away industry from the
household has radically changed the family organization. Many functions of the
family have been taken away by other agencies. People are becoming more secular,
rational, and scientific but less religious in their outlook.
Inventions and discoveries in
science have shaken the foundations of religion. The function of the state or
the field of state activity has been widened. Modern technology has made the
states perform such functions as the weaker section and the minorities
making provisions for education, health care, etc. Transportation and communication
inventions are leading to a shift of functions from local government to the
central government of the whole state. Modern inventions have also strengthened
nationalism. The modern governments that rule through the bureaucracy have
further impersonalized human relations.
12.
Environment
Technology provides an
understanding and an appreciation for the world around us. Most modern
technological processes produce unwanted by-products in addition to the desired
products, which is known as industrial waste and pollution. While most material
waste is reused in the industrial process, many forms are released into the
environment, with negative environmental side effects, such as pollution and
lack of sustainability. Different social and political systems establish
different balances between the value they place on additional goods versus the
disvalues of waste products and pollution. Some technologies are designed
specifically with the environment in mind, but most are designed first for
economic or ergonomic effects. Historically, the value of a clean environment
and more efficient production processes has been the result of an increase in
the wealth of society, because once people can provide for their basic
needs, they can focus on less tangible goods such as clean air and
water.
The effects of technology on the
environment are both obvious and subtle. The more obvious effects include the
depletion of nonrenewable natural resources, and the added pollution of air,
water, and land. The more subtle effects include debates over long-term
effects e.g., global warming,
deforestation, natural habitat destruction, and coastal wetland loss. Each wave of
technology creates a set of waste previously unknown by humans: toxic waste,
radioactive waste, electronic waste
