The guide's wording is blunt: the nature and importance of change is debated. People argue not only about whether a change was good but about what caused it and how much of it is real.
The three positions people argue from, and the weakness of each.
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Technological determinism is the view that a technology arrives and society rearranges around it. It is the position most student answers take without noticing, and it is the easiest to attack.
Sounds like
- “Social media changed politics”
- “AI is transforming work”
- “The internet made the world smaller”
Better version
- “Platforms designed for engagement changed how campaigns are run”
- “Employers are using AI to reorganise particular tasks”
- “Cheap communication let some people reach further, and left others out”
What the better version adds: An actor. Somebody designed it, somebody deployed it, and somebody benefits — which is exactly what the concept of power is for, one micro later.
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Real-world examples you can name
Government internet shutdowns — tracked annually by Access Now since 2016
States order operators to suspend mobile data or the whole internet, usually during protests, elections or exams. India has recorded the most shutdowns of any country for several consecutive years.
Who it affected: Everyone in the affected region — including businesses, hospitals and students.
Estonia's internet voting — national use since 2005; over half of votes cast online by 2023
Voters authenticate with a national ID card or mobile ID and may re-vote online during the advance period, with the last vote counting and a paper ballot overriding it. Critics argue verifiability and coercion remain unsolved.
Who it affected: Estonian voters, and every state weighing convenience against verifiability.
M-Pesa mobile money — launched 2007
Money is sent as a text message and cashed in or out at a local agent, so a phone becomes a bank account without a bank. Research has linked it to households moving out of extreme poverty, particularly those headed by women.
Who it affected: People with a phone but no bank branch within reach.
Why these three together: The same internet produces very different societies in different places, which is the strongest available evidence that people shape technology rather than the other way round.
How this is tested — you are rewarded for noticing that the claim in the question is itself contestable. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — structured question
- Part c: to what extent do you agree that X changed Y
- Section B at HL: extended responses built on a claim
Paper 2 — source-based question
- Q3: contrast a source that assumes determinism with one that does not
- Q4: synthesise sources that disagree about a cause
The trap: accepting the question's premise: When a question says “technology has transformed…”, the strongest answers examine whether it did, and who made it.
Explain one weakness of the claim that technology changes society on its own.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Examine the claim that digital technology has made societies more equal.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.