Communication and social change

The essentials

Social change means a change in the structure, values or behaviour of a society over time. Communication alone rarely causes change, but it acts as a catalyst: it spreads awareness, shapes opinion, links people with common goals and puts pressure on decision-makers. This role is studied as development communication or communication for social change.

Key points

• Media inform people about problems and rights, for example campaigns on literacy, health, sanitation or the girl child.
• Media help mobilise people: the press played a major role in India's freedom struggle, carrying ideas of nationalism to readers.
• Many freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, ran newspapers to spread their message.
• Environmental movements such as the Chipko movement used folk songs, slogans and word of mouth, and later gained wide media coverage.
• SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, 1975–76) used satellite television to send educational programmes on farming, health and family welfare to villages.
• Social media have supported campaigns on issues such as gender justice and helped citizens organise quickly.
• Change usually needs two-way communication: listening to the community, not only sending messages to it.

Exam tips

Learn two or three Indian examples where media supported a movement and be able to say exactly what the media did (awareness, mobilisation, pressure on authorities).

Common mistakes

Do not claim that media "caused" a movement. Movements are led by people; media amplify and speed up change. Also, media can resist change by repeating old prejudices.