Meaning
According to Jones: Social change is a term used to describe variations in, or modification of, any aspect of social processes, social patterns, social interaction or social organization.
According to Gillin and Gillin: Social changes are variation from the accepted modes of life, whether due to alteration in geographical condition in cultural equipment, composition of the population or ideologies and whether brought about by diffusion or inventions within the group.
According to Ginsberg: Social change means, changes in social structure for example, the size of society, the composition or balance of its parts or the type of its organization. Therefore, social change refers to the modification which takes place in the life pattern of people. Social change does not refer to all the changes going on in the society, for example, language, philosophy etc. This means only alteration in the field of social relationship. Thus, social change means variations of any aspect of social processes, social patterns, social interactions or social organization. It is a change in the institutional and normative structure of society.
Characteristics/nature of social change
- Social change is a universal phenomenon
- Social change is social in nature
- The speed and extent of social change is not uniform
- Social change is continuous
- Social change is unpredictable
- Social change is both planned or unplanned or spontaneous
- Social change results from the interaction of various factors