Over many years, societies have had to develop and adapt to the way the world is changing. Today, some of the most recognisable changes include the expansion of towns and cities, the advancement of the global economy and the rapid development of technology. Due to these advancements in society, we have seen the industrial revolution create more employment opportunities with better working conditions. I believe, that these changes have all made a direct impact on the world we live in today compared to that of previous societies. In this essay, I will explain some of the ways that society has changed.
According to Giddens (2009), urbanisation is a population’s movement from rural land into towns and cities. He also states that in 1800, fewer than 20 per cent of the British population, approximately 1.1 million people, lived in towns or cities but by 1900, it had risen to 74 per cent, which is about 7 million people and London was considered the largest city in the world. Now, 90 per cent of the population live in towns and cities. Due to grocery stores, there is less of a need for people to grow their own crops and food supplies. When it was necessary for people to produce their own food supplies, it was considered to be a full time job, families would wake early in the morning and collect eggs and milk the cow to produce breakfast and the rest of the day was dedicated to preparing dinner for that night. Today, this is not the case. Though some families may still continue to work on their farms everyday, most of them do this and sell their produce to supermarkets and make a profit. Also, many people work full time jobs in cities and towns and therefore simply do not have time to grow and harvest their own food.
Giddens (2009) states that industrialisation is ‘the development of modern forms of industry. It has been one of the main sets of