Social Values are the customs, beliefs, tastes, social practices and norms, and attitudes of a particular social community. Social value refers to the attitude or ‘code of conduct’ that an individual in certain society has to conform to. Social values determine the course of the social life of a person and regulate his or her life to a great extent. It is one’s commitment to social values that one cannot get involved in anti-social and criminal or notorious activities. Without social values we cannot grow up as a complete social man. In the past social values were more conservative, rigid and strong. We all know that Bangladesh is a conservative Muslim country. People used to live a more restricted life. Men and women were not allowed to mix freely. People were more religious. The young were more respectful to the old and superior. Smoking in front of the superior was forbidden. People used to believe in joint families. In a word, we were dutiful and responsible to the society. As a result there was a close bond among the members of the society. We know that honesty is the best policy. But, it is a sorrow that these social values are no longer existed now. Now the criminals are honored as heroes of the society. People feel frightened to speak against their evil deeds. The causes of the present social degradation are materialistic attitude of people in general. Without a few exceptions, people now run after money, fame and fortune without giving any thought to right or wrong, good or evil, moral or immoral. The effects of social values in the present age are very deplorable. The noble qualities are now exiled. But now people are getting more and more liberal. They follow religion in a more relaxed way. Men and women now mix frequently.
However, social values should be preserved by way of raising awareness among people. Our social values are changing fast. There is a clear western influence on our culture and values. Many people now accept western values. The causes of the present social values are satellite, television, globalization, free exchanges among the nations and free trade. There are certain effects of our social values. People now abide by religion in a more relaxed way. Women are now playing a more important role in different parts of our society. Our social values reflect our moral standard, culture and tradition. We should be more alert to maintain these values. If we lose our values, we will have no individual identity as a nation. Our social values show our identity. To do so, we can develop an intra-social relationship among its members, keep an eye on our younger’s so that they are not derailed, and not allow any such things to happen that destroy people’s morality and goad them to do unsocial and anti-social things.
