Discuss the characteristics of social problems.

Social problems leave disastrous consequences on the individual and on the society a large. They are the deviations from the ideal situations. They are caused by the people who are altruistic in nature and they always go in the opposite direction from the single headed persons. The origin of social problems is social. They all are interrelated with each other and they affect every individual of the society. Every individual have a different impact of the problems.

Different thinkers have different views of social problems some of these are:  According to Fuller and Myers, a social problem is “A condition which is defined by a considerable number of persons as a deviation from some social norms which they cherish”, and  Merton and Nisbet define social problem as “A way of behaviour that is regarded by a substantial part of society as being in violation of one or more generally accepted or approved norms”. and According to Carr: “A social problem exists whenever we become conscious of a difficulty, a gap between our preference and the reality”.

By the above definitions some characteristics are:

• All social problems have harmful consequences for the society.
• All problems are deviated from the normal situations.
• Almost all the problems are caused by many factors and these factors are social in origin.
• Social problems are interrelated.
• Social problems affect every person of the society.
• Social problems have different impact on different individuals.