rules: you must stay reasonably on topic, and all posts must be a least 15 words long.

Discuss.

Oh goodness, chocolate goes way back, it has so much history it's ridiculous. Speaking in modern terms though it holds a big presence in everyday things. You see chocolate all over the place, on TV, talked about in a podcast, in an add will you're browsing your favorite web site. Chocolate is used a lot in baking, you'll see it in many recipes and with cooking becoming such a creative outlet more and more people are seeing all the neat things you can do with it. It also holds cultural importance for many, all over the world people use chocolate in many of their holidays. It also has health benefits and what with people becoming more health conscious these things are readily able to be researched on, but don't forget that it also has negative effects as well. Everything being said the chocolate industry is a steadily growing business and seems to hold prevalent in modern society.

Chocolate has huge importance in many parts of the world. Chocolate (really, cocoa beans) was used as currency in pre-Colombian central America and was a vital commodity. It was adopted as a priceless luxury in Europe, a true sign of wealth. Today, chocolate and cocoa beans remain vital to the economies of west African nations, where 70% of all cocoa beans are grown. Due to such cultural and economic importance, chocolate is very well discussed. You see/hear it getting talked everywhere. There are museums, websites, even official landmarks dedicated to chocolate.

Tl;dr, chocolate is, has, and will for the foreseeable future be critical to many nations around the world. Not just as an ingredient, but as a piece of history.

You ask us to discuss chocolate's role in society, but you give us nothing to respond to otherwise?  What do YOU see as being chocolate's role?  XD

I don't think our craving for chocolate will ever come to an end.  It's one of those things that will just.. stick around. Like oreos and ice cream.  It's not a fad and never will be... it just simply -is-.  Impressive really, for something that's not a staple.

So chocolate's role in society?  It is comfort to the masses, security for the depressed, and joy to everyone else.  

This is the most easiest question ever. It is meant for eating and it can make people happy.

Chocolate is something that almost everybody eats now. But I was surprised to see this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEN4hcZutO0

This made me think about it. How comes people who have been harvesting cocoa beans for years have never tasted even once chocolate? 
Then I was ashamed to see this:

http://www.metropolistv.nl/en/themes/chocolate/first-encounter-with-a-cocoa-fruit-in-holland

Do so many people not know what it is? Especially the woman who comes from 'Friesland' which is a Dutch province where they eat as much chocolate as any other place in the Netherlands. I'll admit, I would maybe not know it immediately, but if I'd think about it, or see the inside I think I could figure it out.

I hope that these videos will interest you as well, because they did so for me.

Chocolate....I plan on mastering the arts or chocolate decoration wise. Chocolate is something that I have loved from the time that I was a toddler. Chocolate is a guilty pleasure for many people across the world...chocolate is life chocolate is love...its just so enjoyable to eat! And its something, that I will never stop eating in my lifetime. Here's something that Jordan showed me a long time ago. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV4G9Y3gIcw

bobq : personally, chocolate is not my favorite. i get sick when i eat it. to me i dont really see any significance other than eating and stuff.

Chocolate is the sweetest sensation you can ever unwrap, take out of an oven, pour, or conjure with your magical candied powers that you wish you had.

It makes people feel nice just to have, warm and fuzzy to eat, and on top of all that it draws people closer together just to eat some chocolate together. You know what I mean?