WJEC GCSE Digital Technology Impact: the digital shift, emerging technologies and ethical and environmental effects
A deep-dive WJEC GCSE Digital Technology guide to the impact of digital technology content of Unit 1. Covers the digital shift in work and business and new monetisation models, emerging technologies such as AI, IoT and VR/AR, and the ethical, social and environmental impacts including privacy, the digital divide, e-waste and energy use.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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The impact of digital technology content of WJEC GCSE Digital Technology Unit 1 looks at how technology is changing work and business, the new technologies driving further change, and the ethical, social and environmental effects of it all. This guide maps the topic and links to a focused answer page for each examinable point, all assessed in Unit 1, The Digital World.
The digital shift
Digital technology has changed work (remote and flexible working, collaboration across distances, and automation of some jobs) and business (e-commerce reaching a global market, and lower costs). It has brought new monetisation models:
- Subscription - a regular fee for ongoing access (streaming, software).
- Advertising - a free service funded by showing adverts.
- Freemium - a free basic service with paid extra features.
These bring benefits (flexibility, global reach, convenience) and drawbacks (job losses, blurred work-life boundaries, decline of high-street shops).
Emerging technologies
You must describe new technologies and weigh their uses and impacts.
| Technology | What it is | Example use |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial intelligence (AI) | Software doing tasks needing human intelligence; learns from data (machine learning) | Voice assistants, medical diagnosis |
| Internet of Things (IoT) | Everyday objects connected to the internet to collect and share data | Smart thermostats, doorbells, wearables |
| Virtual reality (VR) | A fully simulated, immersive environment | Gaming, training simulations |
| Augmented reality (AR) | Digital content overlaid on the real world | Apps adding information to your view |
Each brings benefits (convenience, automation, new uses) and risks (privacy, security, bias, job loss).
Ethical, social and environmental impacts
- Ethical: privacy and the use of personal data; fairness and accountability of automated decisions.
- Social: the digital divide (the gap in access due to cost, location or skills); effects on health (screen time) and society (communication, misinformation).
- Environmental: e-waste from discarded devices; high energy consumption by devices and data centres.
Harms can be reduced by recycling and reusing devices, using energy-efficient equipment, improving access, and protecting privacy.
How to study this topic
- Learn the changes to work and business, with benefits and drawbacks, and the monetisation models.
- Define each emerging technology and give a use, a benefit and a risk.
- Cover ethical, social and environmental impacts as distinct categories.
- Practise "how could this be reduced" answers for environmental and social harms.
- Always give both sides - the positives and the negatives - for full evaluation marks.
The Impact dot points
Each examinable point has its own answer page with worked exam questions and cross-links:
For the official specification
WJEC publishes the full Digital Technology specification, past papers and mark schemes at wjec.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and WJEC's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE Digital Technology specification — WJEC (2021)