Technology and the digital society (SACE Stage 2 Society and Culture)

Syllabus dot point

“Analyse how digital technology is transforming communication, relationships, participation and power in contemporary Australian society.”

6 min readUpdated 2 Jun 2026

Quick answer

Digital technology, including the internet, smartphones, social media and artificial intelligence, is one of the most powerful drivers of social change in contemporary society. It has transformed how people communicate, form relationships, work, learn and participate in public life, connecting people across distance while also reshaping social norms. It creates new opportunities for access, voice and community, but also new problems: a digital divide between those with and without access, concerns about privacy, surveillance and data power, misinformation, and effects on wellbeing. Analysing the digital society means weighing these benefits and risks rather than treating technology as simply good or bad.

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What this dot point is asking
Technology as a driver of social change
Communication and relationships
The digital divide
Data, surveillance and privacy
Australian examples
Connection to the rest of the course
Assessment-style questions

What this dot point is asking

You must explain technology as a driver of social change, analyse its effects on communication, relationships and power, and assess benefits and risks, with Australian examples.

Technological change is one of the main engines of social change. New technologies do not just give people new tools; they change how society is organised. The printing press, the telephone and television each reshaped social life, and digital technology is doing so on a larger scale. By changing how information moves, who can communicate with whom, and how fast, digital technology reshapes work, politics, relationships and culture, making it central to understanding contemporary change.

The digital society

The digital society describes a society in which digital technologies such as the internet, mobile devices, social media and data systems are woven through everyday communication, work, relationships, services and the exercise of power.

Communication and relationships

Digital technology has transformed communication. People maintain relationships across distance, form communities around shared interests rather than shared location, and access information instantly. This brings real benefits: connection, support, learning and participation. It also changes social norms and raises concerns: constant connection and curated self-presentation can affect mental health and self-esteem, and online interaction can both strengthen and weaken the quality of relationships. Norms about privacy, attention and what is shared have shifted within a single generation.

Technology reshapes power, not only convenience

Digital technology changes who holds power. It can empower ordinary people to organise, expose wrongdoing and reach audiences, as in online campaigns and movements. At the same time it concentrates new power in the technology companies that control platforms, algorithms and data. Analysing the digital society means examining this shift in power, not just its convenience.

The digital divide

Access to digital technology is not equal, producing a digital divide between those who have reliable access, devices and skills and those who do not. In Australia this divide falls along lines of income, age, location and disadvantage, with people in remote areas, older people and low-income households more likely to be excluded. As more services, work and participation move online, the digital divide deepens existing inequality, turning a technical gap into a social one.

Data, surveillance and privacy

The digital society runs on data. Every interaction generates information that can be collected, analysed and used. This enables useful services and personalisation, but it also creates surveillance, where governments and companies can monitor behaviour at a scale never before possible. This raises contemporary debates about privacy, consent, data security and the power of those who control data. Misinformation and algorithmic shaping of what people see add further concerns about an informed public.

Weighing benefit against risk for one technology

Take the technology

Social media used by an Australian advocacy campaign.

Identify the empowering effect

It lets ordinary people organise rapidly, reach large audiences and pressure decision-makers without traditional gatekeepers.

Identify the concentrating effect and risks

The same platforms concentrate power in the companies controlling the algorithm and the data, and can spread misinformation and affect wellbeing.

Reach a balanced conclusion

The technology empowers and concentrates at once, so the analytical judgement weighs both rather than treating it as simply liberating or simply harmful. This balance is what Stage 2 rewards.

Common mistake

Do not treat technology as either a saviour or a threat. The strongest analysis is balanced: digital technology brings genuine benefits in access, connection and participation, and genuine harms in inequality, surveillance and wellbeing. Examiners reward answers that weigh both and ground them in real Australian examples rather than general claims.

Australian examples

The shift to remote work and online learning during the COVID-19 period showed both the power of digital technology and the digital divide for those without reliable access. Online activism and viral campaigns show technology empowering ordinary people. Debates over social media regulation, misinformation and protecting young people show society responding to digital risks. Concerns over data breaches affecting millions of Australians highlight the privacy and data-power dimension.

Connection to the rest of the course

This dot point treats technology as a driver of social change and links closely to globalisation, the media, work and power. It connects to social change and continuity, since technology is a leading cause of rapid change, and to inequality through the digital divide. The social impact of a specific technology, such as artificial intelligence or social media on young people, is a current and evidence-rich issue for the folio and external investigation.

Assessment-style questions

Questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer, written by ExamExplained. Society and Culture has no written exam, so use them to check your understanding before your assessment tasks.

Practice8 marks

Source: during the COVID-19 period, the shift to remote work and online learning advantaged Australians with reliable internet and devices, while disadvantaging those in remote areas, older people and low-income households. (a) Identify the concept the source illustrates. (b) Using sociological concepts, explain how this concept turns a technical gap into a social one. (c) Suggest one way the disadvantage could be reduced.

Show worked answer →

This is a source/data analysis item marked on knowledge, analysis and evaluation.

(a) Concept (2 marks): The digital divide: the gap between those with reliable access, devices and skills and those without.
(b) From technical to social (4 marks): As work, learning, services and participation move online, lacking access is no longer just a technical inconvenience but a barrier to education, employment and civic participation. Because the divide falls along existing lines of income, age and location, it deepens existing inequality, converting a technology gap into entrenched social disadvantage. Naming the digital divide and its link to inequality earns the marks.
(c) Reducing disadvantage (2 marks): Improving affordable internet and device access in remote and low-income communities, plus digital-skills programs, would narrow the divide.

Practice12 marks

Analyse how digital technology is transforming communication, relationships and power in Australia. Evaluate the claim that digital technology empowers ordinary people more than it concentrates power.