Technological Change and its Impact on Pakistani Society |

 

Analyze the response of Pakistani society to technological change and society.

Course: Citizenship Education and Community Engagement

Course code 8606

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