Social and Economic Impact of ICT
What you must know
ICT changes how people work, learn, shop and communicate. Learn benefits and drawbacks for employment (automation, new jobs, job losses), education (e-learning, access), commerce (e-commerce, online banking), health (telemedicine) and communication (social media). Understand the digital divide, teleworking, globalisation, privacy, cyberbullying and environmental impact (e-waste, energy use).
Traps candidates fall into
- Listing only benefits - balanced answers score higher.
- Assuming automation always destroys jobs - it also creates new roles.
- Ignoring groups excluded by cost, skills or connectivity.
- Forgetting e-waste and energy consumption.
- Treating social media as purely positive or negative.
Rule of thumb
For any impact question, use four headings: economic, social, environmental, ethical. Add one example under each.
Worked example
"Impact of online shopping." Economic: lower costs, wider market, but local shops close. Social: convenience for some, isolation for others. Environmental: delivery emissions vs fewer car trips, packaging waste. Ethical: worker conditions, data privacy. This structure earns full marks.