Impacts of digital technology on wider society including Ethical issues…

The idea

Digital technology changes how people live, work and relate, so its effects reach far beyond the device. Ethical issues ask what is right or fair: should a company sell personal data, or should a self-driving car prioritise one life over another? Legal issues arise when behaviour is governed by law, such as handling personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018. Cultural issues concern how technology shapes shared ways of life, for example streaming changing how music is consumed or social media altering language. Environmental issues cover energy use in data centres, mining materials for batteries (such as lithium and cobalt) and electronic waste. Privacy issues concern control over personal information, such as location tracking or always-on microphones. A strong answer names a specific technology, identifies the affected group and explains a benefit and a drawback.

What earns the marks

• Identifies a named digital technology or service, such as social media, cloud storage, smartphones or AI assistants, rather than discussing technology in general.
• Explains an ethical issue by weighing what is right or fair, for example whether it is acceptable to profile users for targeted advertising without clear consent.
• Explains a legal issue by linking behaviour to rules or laws, such as an organisation breaching data protection duties when it loses customer records.
• Explains a cultural issue by showing how technology changes shared habits, values or communication, for example how streaming alters music purchasing or how translation apps affect minority languages.
• Explains an environmental issue with a concrete impact, such as the electricity used to cool data centres, mining materials for batteries, or toxic substances in discarded devices.
• Explains a privacy issue by referring to collection, storage, sharing or tracking of personal data, such as a fitness app sharing location history.
• Uses a balanced structure that gives both positive and negative consequences for at least one issue, showing that impacts are not one-sided.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Treating ethical and legal as synonyms.

  Put it right: Ethical means what is morally right or fair, while legal means what is permitted or forbidden by law; an action can be legal but still unethical.

• Giving only a benefit or only a drawback.

  Put it right: State one advantage and one disadvantage for the chosen technology so the impact is balanced.

• Using vague phrases such as 'it affects society' without a named example.

  Put it right: Name the technology, the group affected and the specific change, for example 'facial recognition in shops can misidentify customers and deter them from entering'.

Exam tips

• Read the command word carefully: 'describe' needs a point plus detail, while 'discuss' or 'evaluate' needs both sides and a judgement.
• Anchor each paragraph to one issue from the list so the examiner can see coverage; a short opening sentence naming the issue helps.
• Use current, realistic examples such as contactless payment, wearable health trackers or generative AI tools, and keep the link to the issue explicit.