We all hold a position in society that depends on our financial and social conditions. When this position changes through our actions or external factors, we experience social mobility.
Social mobility is a change, where an individual or group of individuals experience growth or decline in their standard of living, financial condition, status, rank or position during their lifetime.
You have experienced social mobility if you earn more than what your father or family members made at your age.
When you earn more than what you made five years back, you experience social mobility.
If you can afford more things than you could a few years ago, then you have experienced social mobility.
But social mobility is not just an upward movement.
Social mobility occurs even if the status of people degrades down the social structure.
Social mobility is the social and economic change experienced by people during a period that shows where they lie on the social hierarchy scale.
Based on the direction of the movement, social mobility can be of 6 types:
Horizontal Social Mobility
I work as an Interior Designer in a design firm. If I leave my current position and start working in a university or training institute as a design faculty there will be a change in my job but not in my social standing.
There will be no movement up or down the social ladder and hence I will not gain or lose my status. I will only experience occupational or horizontal mobility.
Horizontal mobility is a change in the occupational structure of individuals where the movement results in no major change in the socio-economic position of an individual.
Vertical Social Mobility
It is a more visible movement because it takes an entity up or down that social level.
We all love movies where we see the fortune or an underdog turnover as he/she/they become successful through hard work.
I love coming-of-age stories where a character struggles to grow and attain a position of power and reputation.
This kind of vertical mobility where an individual or individuals move up the hierarchy and gain a better social position in terms of both standard of living and financial strength is called Upward Mobility.
On the other hand, vertical mobility can also be seen in the form of Downward mobility. Many well-established business firms often lose money and go bankrupt often.
People having a fine social status and good financial background can also go down the social ladder and experience vertical mobility. However, they can bounce back too.
Everyone aims for Upward Vertical mobility.
It has become the life and purpose of most individuals today.
Absolute Social Mobility
When I was a child, very few kids in my village went to school. Today, almost every kid goes to school.
People did not have proper houses. Most of them had one-storeyed houses with no terrace.
Today most of them have wonderfully constructed houses. They own televisions, refrigerators and every little thing that a household needs.
The social position of the entire community has changed.
It can be calculated in quantity as well as in quality.
Absolute mobility occurs when individuals experience social mobility in a complete computable sense.
Relative Social Mobility
Relative mobility compares our social movement with someone else’s social movement (mostly our parents).
We can measure relative mobility by comparing our growth of ten or more years with that of our parents during the same age and period.
It helps us compare the mobility of two individuals in comparison to their previous generation and find how likely an individual will move further from their parents’ place.
Someone who takes over a successful family business may grow faster socially and financially than someone who starts a business from scratch and has no financial backing.
However, a person with more opportunities and support can fall back to a lower position due to a lack of motivation and will.
Just focus on growing with handwork, dignity and a clear vision.
Your growth is what matters more!
Grow at your own pace.
Intergenerational Social Mobility
It is the most common form of social mobility. It affects the lives of most people.
If your standard of living is better than that of your parents then the new position you enjoy is an example of Intergenerational mobility.
Intergenerational mobility occurs when the social status changes from one generation to the next.
In most cases, the next generation achieves a higher status than the previous generation.
However, issues like civil wars and violence also show us the sad side of intergenerational mobility.
Intragenerational Social Mobility
Intragenerational mobility depends on various factors like geographical locations, political forces, beliefs, social conditions, education, etc.
Individuals of the same generation may experience this type of movement.
If an individual, who has a job, grows and becomes a successful Business person then the social movement of the individual will be called Intragenerational mobility.
If you experience social mobility during your lifetime, it is called Intragenerational mobility.
As we just read, social mobility can depend on many factors.
Let us now understand the factors that can impact social mobility with some examples: –
How can education change the picture
When I come across the problems of less educated people, I always feel grateful for the education that I have received.
Similarly, when I meet people who are more aware and educated than myself, I wish to educate myself even more.
Education is a crucial element that plays a vital role in shaping our lives.
It may not be a quintessential element for success. But without it, all visions and perspectives might get blurred.
If I understand Interior design, I can plan a modular kitchen better than an amateur.
Hence, I have a better chance of getting employed by a kitchen designing firm than someone who has less technical knowledge of the subject.
Education does not just mean gaining an academic qualification. It means gaining more knowledge of a subject.
Even if I do Masters in Designing, I might lose a job to someone who has far more on-site experience and practical knowledge than me.
Knowledge certainly is power.
But knowledge alone does not promise social mobility.
The advantage of inheritance
Some people inherit things that many others spend their entire life earning. This creates a social as well as political divide.
The imbalance in wealth that people inherit is one of the reasons for the widespread inequality in society.
There is a huge advantage of inheritance from a socio-economic point of view.
When it comes to Social Mobility people who inherit property from their previous generation find far more opportunities to move forward in life.
They can take more career risks as they have more security.
Thus, the property inherited by people can also determine or predict their future.
Strength of Social opportunities
One can grow and progress if there are enough options to grow and progress.
People from an Indian suburb might choose not to hire an interior designer for designing their homes.
People living in the city might know the importance of hiring a qualified designer to design every detail of their houses.
Hence, there will be more job opportunities in the city for Interior designers than in suburban areas.
Social mobility is dependent on Social opportunities.
Inequality and discrimination
A society full of discrimination and inequality always disrupts the progress of its individuals.
Many Black and Asian Americans have struggled more than others to survive and grow in American society.
The inequality that women face at work and in patriarchal families still makes it difficult for them to stay strong and go forth.
Many communities fail to evolve due to apathy, inequality and discrimination in society.
The wealth called Health
Health, which is often neglected by most of us, can make or break many things.
A health crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic must have woken us up to the fact.
The challenges faced by a person suffering from chronic health problems or someone who is physically challenged can completely change the course of their progress.
Those who are fit and healthy have less to worry about than those who are not.
Health is the wealth people have the advantage of to grow faster on the social path.
However, this challenge is not a failure report.
Many physically challenged individuals enjoy more international success and status than completely sound and fit people.
Determination is the key that takes us through all challenges.
Government directives and laws
Social opportunities depend on the government directives and laws of the land.
If a Government does not give fair advantage to a section of the people to grow, they slow down the progress of such people.
A society where the local laws are anti-feminist and outdated are not ideal for its citizens.
The political environment and laws of states and countries can affect the social positions of their citizens.
Personal motivation and vision in life
A positive outlook towards life and the will to grow can make a difference.
People who have a vision in life focus on personal motivation despite all challenges.
They do not brood over the opportunities they lack but gain strength from their hard work and willpower.
People who want to grow focus on overall development every day of their lives.
They enjoy progress because they believe in themselves.
CONCLUSION
Success stories of people who became something from nothing motivate us more than the speeches of people who faced no challenges in life.
We are inspired more by people who worked hard, used their intelligence, and applied their creativity to rise to a social position that fills everyone with a sense of hope.
Social mobility is not a good or a bad thing. It is a unit to measure our progress in life.
It is a continuous graph of our time as we live each day and a record of how we have used the opportunities that came our way.
When everyone develops, the entire planet develops. Isn’t that the future most of us want to have?
So why give up now when the ladder has more rungs to it?
It’s not about being greedy to get more in life. But it is about gaining as much as one can, to positively utilise what we achieve for a constructive development and growth of society.
After all, just like society makes or breaks its individuals, the individuals can make or break their society.
Just be determined and focus on personal growth and you will gradually witness the evolution of an entire society.
If you have the will to do it, one day you will do it.
Also, Read: 10 BIGGEST GLOBAL CHALLENGES THAT ARE THREATENING LIFE ON EARTH
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