Type your name into a search box
Imagine you type your own name into a search engine. What will it find?
A photo from a school trip? A comment from three years ago? A game score?
Everything you do online leaves a small trail. Today you look at how digital systems change the way we all live.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Digital footprint | The trail of data you leave when you use digital systems. | Posts, searches, photos |
| Digital identity | Who you appear to be online. | Your gaming name and profile |
| Surveillance | Watching people, often with cameras or data. | CCTV (cameras that watch a street) |
| Privacy | Your right to keep some things to yourself. | A private chat |
| Social network | A website or app where people connect and share. | A group chat or a video app |
| Generative AI | AI that makes new text, pictures, video or sound. | A tool that writes an email |
| Globalisation | The world becoming more joined up through trade and media. | Watching a film made in Japan |
| Isolation | Being cut off from other people or services. | No internet at home |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Quick check: your digital footprint
Have a go
Quick check: your digital footprint
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
The gains: people, services, information
Digital systems give us a lot.
We can talk to friends and workmates in other countries. Personal networks keep us close to friends. Professional networks help us find work and advice. We can use services at any hour: renew a passport, buy shoes, watch a film. We can look up almost any fact in seconds, for study, for work or just for fun. We can read news from other countries. This last one is part of globalisation.
Online services in three groups
| Group | Examples | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Government | Pay car tax, book a driving test, check doctor appointments with the NHS | No queue at an office. Open at night |
| Commercial (business) | Shop for clothes, bank, order food | Shops are open 24 hours. Prices are easy to compare |
| Entertainment | Music, films, games, live sport | Watch what you want, when you want |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Jobs and skills
Machines and software can do some jobs that people did. Some jobs go. Other jobs are new: nobody was an app developer before smartphones.
Many jobs stay but need new skills. A shop worker now uses a card reader, a stock app and a website.
So people must keep learning. This is called a shift (a change) in skill needs.
How a job changes
| Job | What digital systems changed | A new skill |
|---|---|---|
| Bank clerk | Most people bank on a phone | Helping customers with an app |
| Factory worker | Robots build and lift | Checking and fixing the machines |
| Travel agent | People book trips online | Planning special trips |
| Taxi worker | An app finds the nearest car for each rider | Using a map app and a payment app |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Scenario: the new checkout
Have a go
Scenario: the new checkout
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.