Contemporary Australian Society: A Sociological Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary Australian society, examining its evolution and key characteristics. It delves into the influence of European colonization, particularly British and Dutch, on the cultural landscape, while also acknowledging the distinct cultural practi...Read More

Running head: CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY
Contemporary Australian Society
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

1CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY
With time, invention, innovation, development etc people develop dynamic interactive
patterns with variables in the society. Sociologists study these changes in the society and the
variables that are impacting the lives of the people on a daily basis (Holmes et al., 2014). Global
phenomenon like the World War II and globalization has led to the construction of the
contemporary society that people dwell in today. From a global context it can be said that the
people have been immensely impacted by the use of technology (Holmes et al., 2014).
Technological advances have provided the people an increased outreach towards broadening the
horizon. The arrival of Europeans in the 16th century in the island country is one of the
milestones of the history of the Australian society (Holmes et al., 2014). There are significant
Dutch and British influence in the culture of the country owing to the colonization and the steady
growth of the economy. Economy of a country has an important influence on the lives of the
people and since Australia is one of the countries that have observed a continuous improvement
in the economic development the people have developed their standard of living and other
aspects of livelihood (Britannica.com, 2018).
Currently the political scenario in the country is stable; the focus of the government is on
the improvement of the economy and the lives of the people with every infrastructure possible.
The government has made a number of polices and reforms for the people providing them with
better opportunity. One of the highlights of the country’s political stand in improving the lives of
the people is legalizing same-sex marriage in the country in 2017; homosexuality has been one
of the most controversial and talked about social agenda (Australia.com, 2018). There has been
biases and discrimination on the basis of the sexual preference in the society for a long time and
there have been several organisations that have been fighting to get justice for people. Hence a

2CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY
change in the law legalizing same-sex marriage indicates a progressive mindset and an overview
of the general good of people.
The culture among the society of Australia is as mentioned is influenced by European
especially British culture. On the other hand there are Aboriginals in the country who have a
very different set of cultural practices and believes. The language that is officially used in the
country is English and is influenced by the colonization of the British, which explains the Anglo-
Celtic heritage that is prevalent in the country. However, the contemporary society can be said to
be pluralistic in nature (Hirst, 2013). Considering that there is a wide range of people who belong
with a number of religions, ethnic and linguistic background it can be said that the society is
considerate towards economic diversification in the society (Heugh, 2014). The country
welcomes immigrants and foreign trade, thus encouraging diversity in the population. This
diversity is one of the reasons for the continuous growth of the economy as well. Immigration
has been one of the major challenges that the government of the country has tried to control, the
government wants to stop illegal immigration and to protect the ones who are legally settled in
the country. There have been a number of instances that are recorded against immigrants and the
government has strict regulations for it. Diversity is one of the major highlight of the
contemporary society and foreign exchange has a significant contribution towards the economy
(Heugh, 2014).
Another highlight of the contemporary society is the importance towards education and
focusing on the quality of education. There has been a number of higher education and skill
development institution established in the country during the past decade people are choosing to
invest in specialized skill development in order to be able to earn a better livelihood or to have
specialized knowledge in the area of interest (Australia.com, 2018). The government of the

3CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY
country is also helping the people with opportunities like subsidies and scholarships for the ones
who are unable to financially support their education, there are other policies to improve the
condition of the aboriginal people in the country (Australia.com, 2018).
The advancement in technology in the last few years have been one of the most important
aspect to influence the way contemporary Australian society is shaped. The advent of social
media, Smartphones, increase outreach of internet connectivity, easy accessibility to information
etc are all possible due to technology development. The government of Australia has also
provided the people with the opportunity to use such advancements by building infrastructure to
support these changes. Social media has changed the way people communicate and reciprocate,
there are dating application which helps people find their partners are popular in the Australian
society. By March 2014, 5 percent of the Australian population had a tinder profile
(Businessofapps.com, 2018). This figure in turn indicates the tendency of the society towards
experimenting with technology. E-commerce is also one of the most popular platforms in the
technology aspect that is widely used by the society Amazon Australia is one of the largest e-
commerce companies that operate in the country. The government has also installed a number of
features to serve the people with the help of technology, for example the concept of e-safety for
women where the women are provided safety for leading a secured online social life (Hirst,
2013).
Some of the major concerns in the Australian society are: The issue of racism and
discrimination, as a diverse society the people of the country are expected to respect the cultural
practice and ethnic background of all the citizen of Australia (Australia.gov.au, 2018). However,
there have been a number of instances of violence against immigrants. There has been significant
improvement in the business society as well but the Australian business society was criticized for

4CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY
being dominated by men on the higher management (Australia.gov.au, 2018). However, there
are a number of Australian companies who have strategies to change this issue. Other issues
include: corruption among the authoritative officials, issues of gender violence and
discrimination, substance abuse etc (Manning et al., 2013).
It can be concluded form the above discussion that the people of Australia lead a high
standard of life and enjoy the perks of a developed economy. The society has acceptance towards
diversity and the government is in support of the people to improve the lives of the people.
Aboriginals play an important role in the heritage of the country and their rights are also
protected by the authoritative bodies. The society is progressive and adjusts towards change and
development.

5CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY
Reference list:
Australia.com. (2018). History of Australia. Retrieved from
https://www.australia.com/en-in/facts-and-planning/history.html
Australia.gov.au. (2018). Social Issues- Australia.gov.au. Retrieved from
https://www.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/family-and-community/social-issues
Britannica.com. (2018). History of Australia. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/History#ref228719
Businessofapps.com. (2018). Tinder Revenue and Usage Statistics (2017) - Business of Apps.
Retrieved from http://www.businessofapps.com/data/tinder-statistics/
Heugh, K. (2014). Turbulence and dilemma: Implications of diversity and multilingualism in
Australian education. International journal of multilingualism, 11(3), 347-363.
Hirst, P. (2013). From statism to pluralism: Democracy, civil society and global politics.
Routledge.
Holmes, D., Hughes, K., & Julian, R. (2014). Australian sociology. Pearson Australia.
Manning, M., Smith, C., & Mazerolle, P. (2013). The societal costs of alcohol misuse in
Australia. Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice, (454), 1.