Impact of Technology in Society - Research Paper Example

Impact of Technology in Society‏ Introduction Railways came into existence in the early 19th century, and they were of immense impact on the social life during that period. Railway lines started first in Europe and later extended to America. The social impacts of railway transport were evident in all countries that had railway lines in place. England was the first country to set the pace for the development of railway lines in Europe due to its key role in the industrial revolution. Transport during the industrial revolution era heavily relied on canals, roads and animals, but this changed after the invention of railway transport (Aldcroft 20). In years that followed, the extensive development of railway networks affected every aspect of human, social life. Most people became impressed with the invention of railway transport, and towards the end of the nineteenth century, railway transport became the most remarkable development in English history. The overall social impact of railway transport during the industrial revolution was a 1remarkable change in people’s social life across all societies that enjoyed the use of rail transport during the era of the industrial revolution (Aldcroft 24). Major social impacts of railway transport Improved movement of people and goods Before the railway transport came into place, people could not travel longer distances for leisure, work and business. Compared to other modes of transport that existed in the 19th century, railway transport was the cheapest, had a high carrying capacity and was able to cover longer distances. Therefore, it became easier even for the poor people to travel long distances for work and trade. Movement of population from one place to another improved interactions among different social groups, which allowed people to share ideas and cultural behaviors (Bagwell 33). The reduced cost of transporting goods and people made goods sell at cheaper prices. Subsequently, this influenced a high number of people to buy the goods delivered to the market, which increased the number of sales. The rise in demand forced traders to increase the amount of goods they delivered to the market and this called for increased production of goods to meet the increasing market demand. Production industries that had been established during this time had to add labor force in order to increase production of goods. This created an avenue for creating 2new jobs in production industries and people who secured jobs in such industries relied on railway transport and their entire living standards improved significantly (Bagwell 35). The aspect of travelling to other regions and interacting with people of different cultural practices influenced people’s culture. Through the process of interacting with each other, some people were forced to intermarry; others relocated to entirely new areas with different cultural practices while others learned new behaviors from people with whom they interacted (Bagwell 38). Change in food habits The use of railway transport allowed for different food products from different places to reach the market on time. People who lived in urban regions were able to get cheap, fresh food products such as meat, fish, milk and vegetables transported via railway lines from farms. Improved feeding habits made people healthier and strong, which improved their productivity in emerging industries and other work places (Aldcroft 52). Improved access to schools and other sources of information The search for knowledge by upcountry students, who used to walk long distances to get to school in towns, became easy once the railway transport was put in place. People who were not also enrolled in schools due to poor accessibility also joined different learning institutions, which could be accessed using trains. As people continued to enroll into learning institutions, their social lives changed significantly as a result of interacting with other people from different social backgrounds. Education also transformed people’s way of life by influencing people to abandon cultural practices that were of no use to the society (Aldcroft 54). The educated ended up in industries to work as trained labors in different fields. Presence of educated people in industries influenced the creation of the labor aristocracy and organized trade unions. 3Literature materials such as newspapers could also reach people with ease through railway transport, which encouraged people to read a lot. Reading of newspapers enlightened people on latest developments on social reforms taking place in their respective societies. Communication using letters gained significant improvements since letters could be delivered to their destinations within unusually short period via trains (Aldcroft 55). Improved security The introduction of railway transport brought about the development of many industries, which relied on the railway transport to deliver raw materials and finished industrial goods to the market. These heavy investments needed proper security measures to be put in place in order to offer protection to the industries and people who lived around as laborers. Employees in industries and the railway sector gained financial security from their jobs, which played a key role in improving their living standards (Morris 21). Increased human migration As more industries were developed due to extensive railway networks, high number of people migrated to industrialized areas in search of jobs and trade opportunities. These areas became densely populated, causing an urgent need for social amenities such as schools and health facilities. People who had migrated from the countryside adopted urban lifestyle, which was influenced by the extensive growth of towns around industrialized areas. The overall human population in countries that had extensive railway networks increased remarkably due to the many benefits 4that came along with the introduction of railway transport (Morris 23). Changed time setting in different regions Introduction of railway transport brought changes in the time setting that people lived by in different cities of Britain. Before railways were introduced, each region in Britain used to have its own time, which was set the moment the sun reached midday in a given region. These differences in time caused a high number of train crashes to occur as a result of trains moving in different times. A common time scale was adopted for use across all regions in Britain in order to prevent train crashes from occurring. In a way, this phenomenon unified people of Britain and the social isolation that existed in different regions was broken (Johnson 79). Increased taxes Taxes are the main sources of government revenue. Construction of railway networks by European government called for serious investment of money in order to become industrialized. European governments imposed heavy taxes upon their citizens to meet the cost of railway construction, which became a burden to people living in the lower classes (Johnson 80).5 Increased child labor and slavery Emergence of numerous industries increased demand for labor force, which could not be met by the adult population that was present during that time. Industries turned to employing young children born by parents working in the same industries to meet the increasing demand for labor. This practice denied the children a chance to attend school and most of them were not strong enough to work in industries. Apart from the use of child labor, slaves were also sought after to work in the growing railway industries. Slave trade became a booming business in countries that were developing their railway networks and other industries. Slaves who were moved to foreign countries had to adopt new lifestyles that changed their social lives totally (Johnson 82). In conclusion, introduction of railway transport had both positive and negative social impacts on society. It is evident that railway transport was highly instrumental during the time of the industrial revolution. At the same time, various social aspects in the human society took a whole new turn as a result of introduction of railway transport. Works Cited Read More