KS3 Computing — Environmental & Social Impact

Study revision notes for KS3 Computing — Environmental & Social Impact

KS3 Computing — Study Pack

Year 7–9 | Impact of Technology | UK National Curriculum

Overview

Technology shapes society and the natural world in profound ways — for better and for worse. This pack takes a balanced, evidence-based view of both the environmental costs (energy consumption, e-waste, mining) and benefits (smart grids, dematerialisation), and the social impacts — positive (access to education, telemedicine) and negative (digital divide, health effects, misinformation). It also covers the concept of your digital footprint — the permanent trail of data you leave online.

Section 1: Environmental Impact of Technology

Negative Environmental Impacts

Energy Consumption of Data Centres

Every time you stream a video, send an email, or load a web page, that data is processed and stored in a data centre — vast warehouses filled with servers running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The scale:

Global data centres consume approximately 1–2% of the world's electricity
This is equivalent to the electricity consumption of entire countries
This electricity generation produces significant CO₂ emissions — contributing to climate change
A single Google search uses roughly the same energy as turning on a 60-watt lightbulb for a few seconds
Streaming HD video for one hour uses approximately as much energy as boiling a kettle several times
Data centres require enormous amounts of water for cooling

Key point: cloud services feel weightless and invisible, but they have a real, physical energy footprint.

Carbon Footprint of Manufacturing

The environmental impact of technology does not begin when you turn it on — manufacturing is itself highly energy-intensive.

Producing a single smartphone generates approximately 70 kg of CO₂ equivalent during manufacture — before it is ever used
Manufacturing requires mining of raw materials, high-temperature smelting and refining, precision electronics manufacturing (often in highly energy-intensive "clean room" environments), and global shipping
A smartphone is typically replaced every 2–3 years, multiplying this manufacturing footprint per user per decade

E-Waste (Electronic Waste)

E-waste is discarded electronic equipment — old phones, laptops, TVs, cables, printers, and batteries.

The statistics:

More than 50 million tonnes of e-waste are generated globally every year — a weight greater than all commercial aircraft ever built
The UK generates approximately 25 kg of e-waste per person per year — among the highest in Europe
Less than 20% of global e-waste is formally collected and recycled through proper channels

Why e-waste is dangerous:

Electronics contain toxic materials: lead (in solder), mercury (in screens), cadmium (in batteries), arsenic, and brominated flame retardants
When e-waste is dumped in landfill or informally processed (burning cables to recover copper), these toxins leach into soil and groundwater
Much of the world's e-waste is exported to developing countries, where informal workers — often children — dismantle electronics by hand in hazardous conditions

What should happen: proper recycling through certified e-waste recyclers; manufacturers designing products for disassembly and repair; "right to repair" legislation.

Rare Earth Minerals

Modern electronics depend on rare earth minerals and critical materials — many of which are difficult to mine and process sustainably:

Lithium and cobalt: in rechargeable batteries (phones, laptops, electric vehicles)
Neodymium: in speakers and hard drive magnets
Indium and gallium: in touchscreens
Tantalum: in capacitors

Environmental concerns: mining these minerals clears forests, generates toxic waste water, and contaminates local ecosystems. Many deposits are in environmentally sensitive or geopolitically unstable regions.

Positive Environmental Impacts

Smart Energy Grids

AI and computing technology can optimise the distribution of electricity across the national grid — balancing supply and demand in real time, integrating renewable energy sources (wind, solar), and reducing waste. Smart meters allow consumers and utilities to see and manage energy use in ways not previously possible.

Remote Working and Reduced Commuting

Video conferencing and cloud-based collaboration tools (used widely since COVID-19) allow millions of people to work from home. Fewer journeys to work = fewer cars on roads = lower transport emissions. UK transport accounts for approximately 27% of UK greenhouse gas emissions — even a partial reduction is significant.

AI-Optimised Transport and Logistics

Route planning algorithms minimise unnecessary journeys and fuel consumption for delivery vehicles. Ride-sharing apps reduce the number of cars making a given trip. AI traffic management systems reduce congestion and therefore engine idling.

Dematerialisation

Technology has replaced many physical products:

Digital books instead of printed books
Music streaming instead of CDs
Digital newspapers instead of printed ones
Video calls instead of air travel for many business meetings

Each of these replaces the manufacturing, transport, and disposal chain of physical products with a digital service — though this comes with its own energy footprint.

Environmental Impacts Summary Table

Impact	Negative / Positive	Example	Scale
Data centre energy consumption	Negative	Netflix servers running 24/7	1–2% of global electricity
Carbon cost of manufacturing	Negative	Smartphone = ~70 kg CO₂ to produce	Per device, multiplied by billions
E-waste and toxic landfill	Negative	Old phones in landfill; toxic lead/mercury	50m+ tonnes/year globally
Rare earth mineral mining	Negative	Cobalt mining for batteries	Environmental destruction at mine sites
Smart energy grids	Positive	AI balancing wind/solar supply in real time	National/global scale efficiency
Remote working	Positive	Video calls replacing commutes	Significant transport emission reduction
Dematerialisation	Positive	Streaming replacing CD/DVD manufacturing	Eliminates manufacturing/transport chains

The Digital Divide

The digital divide is the gap between people who have access to and can use technology effectively, and those who do not.

Who is affected in the UK:

Elderly people: less likely to have grown up with technology; may lack skills and confidence; may have physical barriers (vision, dexterity)
Low-income households: unable to afford devices or broadband subscriptions
Rural communities: slower or no broadband; poor mobile signal
People with disabilities: may need assistive technology that is not always available or affordable

Consequences:

Inability to access services now only available online: job applications, Universal Credit, NHS appointment booking, banking
Educational disadvantage: children without home computers or internet cannot access online learning resources
Social isolation: unable to use video calls to maintain family connections
Economic exclusion: jobs increasingly require digital skills

COVID-19 and the digital divide: when schools switched to remote learning in 2020, the gap between students with and without home technology became starkly visible. Some students attended no lessons for months.

Health Effects

Effect	Detail
Sleep disruption	Blue light from screens suppresses melatonin (the sleep hormone); using phones before bed delays sleep onset
Eye strain	Prolonged screen use causes digital eye strain (headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes)
Sedentary behaviour	Increased screen time displaces physical activity; contributes to obesity and associated health risks
Social media and mental health	Research links heavy social media use in teenagers to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and poor body image, particularly in girls; exposure to "ideal" images and social comparison
Cyberbullying	Online harassment can occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; anonymity emboldens attackers; difficulty escaping; significant impact on mental health

Misinformation and Echo Chambers

Social media algorithms optimise for engagement — content that provokes strong emotion (outrage, fear) spreads furthest and fastest
This creates echo chambers where users see only content reinforcing their existing beliefs
False health information (anti-vaccine claims, bogus cures) spread during the COVID-19 pandemic caused real harm
Deepfakes (AI-generated fake videos of real people) make it increasingly difficult to trust video evidence

Cyberbullying

Unlike face-to-face bullying, cyberbullying occurs 24/7 without physical distance
The victim cannot escape it by going home from school
Anonymity enables cruelty that bullies might not show in person
Permanence — screenshots and recordings of humiliating content can be shared indefinitely
Significant mental health impact, in extreme cases linked to self-harm and suicide

Access to Education

Free online learning platforms (Khan Academy, BBC Bitesize, YouTube, Coursera) provide high-quality educational content to anyone with internet access
Students in remote areas or developing countries can access resources that would otherwise be unavailable
Adults can retrain and upskill without attending physical classes
People with disabilities can access education that suits their needs

Telemedicine

Video consultations with GPs and hospital consultants reduce the need for travel — particularly valuable for elderly, disabled, or rural patients
Remote monitoring (wearable devices sending health data to clinicians) allows earlier intervention
Mental health services can be accessed from home — reducing stigma and transport barriers

Accessibility Technology

Technology makes the world more accessible for people with disabilities:

Screen readers: convert text to speech for visually impaired users
Voice control: allow people with limited mobility to control computers, phones, and smart home devices
Live captions: automatically generate subtitles for deaf or hard-of-hearing users
Hearing aid apps: smartphones can amplify and process sounds
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) apps: help people who cannot speak to communicate

Global Connectivity

People can maintain close relationships with family and friends across the world via video calls
International research collaboration is possible without travel
Humanitarian organisations can coordinate disaster relief rapidly
Minority communities can maintain cultural connections across geographic distance

Group	Key Challenges	Key Benefits
Elderly	Digital divide; lack of skills; isolation if excluded	Telemedicine; video calls to family; online shopping/banking
Young people	Cyberbullying; social media mental health; screen time	Education resources; communication; career opportunities in tech
People with disabilities	Need for affordable assistive technology; inaccessible websites	Screen readers; voice control; captioning; AAC apps
Low-income households	Cannot afford devices/broadband; excluded from digital services	Free learning resources when access is available
Rural communities	Poor broadband/mobile signal; digital exclusion	Remote working removes need to be near employers; telemedicine
Developing countries	Infrastructure gaps; manufacturing workers in poor conditions	Access to education, health information, and global markets

Section 3: The Digital Footprint

What is a Digital Footprint?

Your digital footprint is the trail of data that your online activity creates. It includes:

Active digital footprint (data you knowingly create):

Social media posts, photos, comments, and likes
Emails you send
Blog posts and articles you write
Reviews you leave on websites
Information you fill in on forms

Passive digital footprint (data collected about you without you actively creating it):

Your IP address (recorded every time you visit a website)
Location data from your phone's GPS
Search history (recorded by search engines)
Browsing history (recorded by websites via cookies)
Shopping and viewing history (used for targeted advertising)
Data collected by apps running in the background

Why Your Digital Footprint Matters

It is largely permanent:

Even deleted social media posts may be archived by web crawlers
Screenshots by other users preserve content you have removed
Companies retain data you have requested deleted (subject to legal challenges)
The Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) preserves historic versions of websites

It can affect your future:

University admissions tutors and employers routinely search candidates online
A post made at age 13 may still be findable when you apply for jobs at 21
Insurance companies may use social media to verify claims
Posts showing illegal activity or expressing extreme views can have serious consequences

Targeted advertising:

Companies use your browsing and purchase history to serve highly targeted advertisements
The more data they have, the more precisely they can target — and the more revenue they earn from advertisers

How to manage your digital footprint:

Use privacy settings on social media — limit who sees your posts
Think before posting — "Would I be happy for a future employer to see this?"
Use private/incognito browsing to reduce cookie tracking (though this does not make you anonymous)
Regularly review and delete old content
Be aware of what apps are collecting (check app permissions)

Key Vocabulary

Term	Definition
Data centre	A facility housing large numbers of servers providing cloud storage and computing services
E-waste	Discarded electronic equipment containing toxic materials
Rare earth minerals	Materials used in electronics manufacturing, often mined in environmentally damaging ways
Dematerialisation	Replacing physical products with digital equivalents (e.g. streaming replacing CDs)
Digital divide	The gap between those with and without adequate access to technology
Cyberbullying	Using technology to harass, intimidate, or humiliate individuals, often anonymously
Digital footprint	The trail of data created by a person's online activity
Active digital footprint	Data knowingly created by the user (posts, messages, form submissions)
Passive digital footprint	Data collected about the user without their direct input (browsing data, location)
Echo chamber	An online environment where users are only exposed to content reinforcing their existing beliefs
Misinformation	False or inaccurate information spread — sometimes unintentionally, sometimes deliberately
Telemedicine	Delivering healthcare remotely via technology (video consultations, remote monitoring)
Assistive technology	Technology that helps people with disabilities use computers and access information
Smart grid	An electricity network using computing and AI to optimise power distribution
Carbon footprint	The total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, product, or activity
Melatonin	The sleep hormone, suppressed by blue light emitted by screens

Common Misconceptions

Misconception	Correction
"Technology is always good for the environment because it replaces physical things"	Technology has significant environmental costs: data centres use massive amounts of electricity, manufacturing produces large quantities of CO₂, and e-waste creates toxic pollution. Digital services are not environmentally free.
"The digital divide only affects people in developing countries"	The digital divide is significant within wealthy countries like the UK — affecting elderly people, those on low incomes, rural communities, and people with disabilities. Approximately 5–10% of UK adults have never used the internet.
"Your digital footprint disappears when you delete something"	Deleted content may remain in web archives, company servers, or screenshots taken by others. Digital footprints are largely permanent.
"Social media only has harmful effects on young people"	Social media also enables young people to maintain friendships, access support communities, express creativity, and develop digital skills. The impact depends on how it is used and moderated.
"E-waste is properly recycled and therefore not a problem"	Less than 20% of global e-waste is formally recycled through certified channels. The majority ends up in landfill or is informally processed in hazardous conditions.

E-Waste Data Stimulus

Use the following data to answer the interpretation questions below:

Year	Global E-Waste Generated (million tonnes)	Formally Recycled (%)
2014	41.8	15.5%
2016	44.7	17.4%
2018	49.8	17.4%
2020	53.6	17.4%
2022	62.0 (estimated)	~18%

Data interpretation questions:

By how many million tonnes did global e-waste increase between 2014 and 2020?
What percentage of the 2020 e-waste total was NOT formally recycled?
Describe the trend in e-waste generation shown by the data.
Even though the percentage formally recycled has increased slightly, explain why the absolute amount of unrecycled e-waste is still growing.

(Answers: 1. 11.8 million tonnes; 2. 82.6%; 3. Steadily increasing year on year; 4. The amount generated is growing faster than the recycling percentage — even at 18% recycling, 18% of a much larger total is more unrecycled waste than 15.5% of a smaller total.)

Exam-Style Questions

Q1 [1 mark] State one environmental problem caused by the disposal of old electronic devices.

Q2 [3 marks] Explain what is meant by a digital footprint. Give one example of an active digital footprint and one example of a passive digital footprint.

Q3 [4 marks] Explain how the digital divide affects elderly people. Suggest one way in which this problem could be reduced.

Q4 [6 marks] Evaluate the environmental impact of video streaming services. In your answer, consider:

the energy used by data centres
the benefits compared with physical alternatives (DVDs, Blu-ray)
what streaming companies could do to reduce their environmental impact

Q5 [8 marks] "Social media has done more harm than good to young people."

Discuss this statement. In your answer, include:

two negative effects of social media on young people
two positive effects of social media on young people
a reasoned conclusion about whether you agree with the statement

MCQ Which of the following is an example of a passive digital footprint?

A) Posting a photo on social media B) Writing a comment on a forum C) Location data collected by a smartphone app D) Sending an email to a friend

Fill in the blanks Global data centres consume approximately __________ of the world's electricity. Less than __________ of e-waste is formally recycled. A person's online trail of data is called their digital __________. The __________ divide describes the gap between those with and without access to technology. When social media algorithms only show users content matching their existing views, this is called an __________ chamber.

Model Answers

Q1: Any one of: toxic materials (lead, mercury, cadmium) leaching into soil and groundwater from landfill; release of hazardous substances during informal burning or dismantling; e-waste taking up landfill space. [1 mark]

Q2: A digital footprint is the trail of data that a person's online activity creates (1). Active example: posting a photo on Instagram — the user has chosen to create and share this content (1). Passive example: a website recording the user's IP address and browsing history through cookies without the user doing anything specific to create this data (1). [3 marks]

Q3: Elderly people may lack the digital skills and confidence to use online services (1), meaning they are excluded from services that have moved online — such as booking GP appointments, applying for benefits, or online banking (1). Physical barriers (vision impairment, reduced dexterity) can also make devices harder to use (1). One way to reduce this: free digital skills training workshops run by libraries, community centres, or charities; subsidised tablets or broadband for over-65s; improved design of websites and apps with accessibility needs in mind. [4 marks: 3 for explanation of how elderly are affected + 1 for valid solution]

Q4: Award 1–2 marks per developed point, up to 6 marks:

Streaming services run on data centres that consume vast amounts of electricity 24/7, generating significant CO₂ emissions — streaming HD video for one hour uses as much energy as boiling a kettle several times.
However, streaming replaces the need to manufacture, package, transport, and eventually dispose of physical DVDs or Blu-ray discs, eliminating that entire chain of physical environmental impact.
Streaming companies could switch to renewable energy (many large providers including Google and Microsoft have committed to this), optimise compression algorithms to reduce data transferred per stream, and use carbon offsetting.
Overall evaluation: streaming is not environmentally free but may have lower total impact than physical media at scale, particularly as energy grids become greener.

Q5: Award 2 marks per negative effect, 2 marks per positive effect, 2 marks for a reasoned conclusion:

Negative: social media is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and poor body image in young people, particularly girls, through social comparison with curated "ideal" images (1) — evidence from multiple studies links heavy use to declining mental health (1).
Negative: cyberbullying through social media platforms occurs 24/7 without physical distance; anonymity enables cruelty that may not occur face to face (1); the permanence of online content can mean humiliating posts follow victims indefinitely (1).
Positive: social media allows young people to maintain and strengthen friendships, particularly across distances or for those who struggle with face-to-face socialisation (1); it provides access to supportive communities for people experiencing isolation or minority identities (1).
Positive: social media enables young people to access educational content, creative inspiration, and public information, and to develop digital communication skills valued by employers (1); it has been used by young people to organise social movements and campaigns on issues important to them (1).
Conclusion: the statement is partially correct but oversimplified — social media's impact depends heavily on how it is used, the content encountered, and the individual. Regulation, improved platform design, and digital literacy education could increase benefits while reducing harms.

MCQ: C — Location data collected by a smartphone app

Fill in the blanks: 1–2% / 20% / footprint / digital / echo

Revision Checklist

I can state the approximate percentage of global electricity used by data centres
I can explain what e-waste is and state two environmental dangers it creates
I can state what percentage of e-waste is formally recycled (less than 20%)
I can explain the carbon footprint of manufacturing a smartphone
I can describe two positive environmental impacts of technology
I can explain what the digital divide is and identify three groups affected by it
I can describe three negative health effects of increased screen time
I can explain what cyberbullying is and why it is particularly harmful
I can explain what misinformation and echo chambers are
I can describe two positive social impacts of technology (e.g. telemedicine, accessibility)
I can explain what a digital footprint is
I can distinguish between an active and a passive digital footprint with examples
I can explain why digital footprints are largely permanent
I can construct a balanced argument about a technology and society topic
I can interpret data about e-waste statistics and describe trends

Practice this topic