Social Change - Assignment Example

Social Change     Social Change Question The next decade will dramatically alter the lives of Americans in terms of both their social and economic lives. One of the most critical changes will take place in the business environment characterized by the rapid decline of men since men appear to be more detrimentally affected by environmental degradation than women. Researchers have found that boys are more susceptible to suffer from attention-deficit disorders, as well as hyperactivity than girls.

On the other hand, girls are privy to more role models than before in the American society, resulting in the empowerment of the girl child. Currently, there are more female students in American universities than male students (Bender, 1982). Consequently, a rapidly increasing share of American leaders, in the next decade, will be women, thereby producing a notable power shift in the social, political and economic environment. Additionally, the next decade will witness the emergence of health care revolution, beginning with the emergence of customized treatment and drugs.

The precursor of customized treatment is the development of medication tailored to individual genetic markers. For instance, herceptin is a drug tailored to treat breast cancer in patients with specific genetic markers. Another notable change in the next 10 years will be the incidence of transhumanism, which is a school of thought that poises that technology and science will allow humans to deal with disabilities then enhance and exceed their natural capabilities. This includes stem cell therapies, brain pacemakers and prosthetics (Friedman, 2012).

Question 2The Internet will be at the center of all the aforementioned changes since it facilitates the conduct of intensive research through the examination of past records and correspondence between researchers regardless of the geographic distance between researchers. The Internet will enable researchers from the US and other countries across the globe to conduct comprehensive research and experiments in order to create and enhance technologies that foster the quality of life, for instance, by treating diseases and helping people cope with disabilities.

The Internet will also be instrumental in enhancing contact between girls and their role models thereby enhancing motivation and creating an environment in which girls appreciate themselves and their potential, which will consequently enhance the role of females in the society and workplace. For instance, the Internet is presently enabling girls to interact with their role models through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook (Bender, 1982). With advancing digital technology, in the next years, this interaction is bound to increase substantially allowing for greater interactions between girls and their role models.

Question 3Sociologists might make use of the Internet to study a number or issues affecting life in the US. Firstly, through the Internet, sociologists might study trends in the US to determine how people use the Internet to complement their offline interactions. Sociologists need to study people’s interactions in order to determine shifting trends in the way people interact and communicate. The Internet is a vital tool for such examination since people typically document their offline lives by writing journal articles on sites such as Dropbox, post in forums and give their input regarding issues affecting the society such as stigmatized illnesses.

Additionally, sociologists might use the Internet to study consumption trends, for instance, to examine people’s eating habits and the consequences of such consumption (Friedman, 2012). The Internet provides an array of data from previously conducted researches, which could provide insight into causes of lifestyle changes and diseases that affect people today. Sociologists might also use the Internet to examine and determine the economic and education parameters, which affect various segments of the society.

For instance, sociologists might use the Internet to examine how socioeconomic status affects people’s enjoyment of recreational facilities. ReferencesBender, T. (1982). Community and social change in America. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.Friedman, G. (2012). The next decade: Empire and republic in a changing world. Massachusetts: Anchor.