Social change is alteration in social structures and cultural patterns over time. It includes shifts in norms, institutions, technology, and power. It can be slow, like the decline of dueling, or fast, like the collapse of the Soviet Union. It can be planned, like a literacy campaign, or unplanned, like a pandemic.

Sociologists study what drives change. Technology is one driver. The printing press, the factory, the internet each reshaped society. Social movements are another. Civil rights, women's suffrage, and gay liberation all changed laws and attitudes. Economic forces, demographic shifts, and environmental crises also drive change.

Theories of change

• Evolutionary: societies progress through stages
• Conflict: change comes from struggle between groups
• Cyclical: societies rise and fall in cycles
• Diffusion: ideas and practices spread from one society to another

Change is not always progress. It can bring loss as well as gain. The internet connects people and spreads misinformation. Industrialization raises living standards and destroys environments. Social change is rarely simple.