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9699 · 9.3

The impact of the new media — practice questions

Practice and worked examples for 9699 The impact of the new media. Short previews only — attempt the full question in MarkScheme against the official scheme.

Worked example 1

Assess the impact of social media on political participation. [15 marks]

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Positive: Rapid mobilisation — protests organised; marginalised voices heard; accountability of politicians; global solidarity campaigns.

Negative: Slacktivism — shallow engagement; misinformation undermines debate; polarisation via echo chambers; state/corporate surveillance of activists; bot manipulation.

Evaluation: Social media lowers barriers to participation but quality and equality of influence uneven — elites and algorithms still shape outcomes.

Conclusion: Amplifies participation possibilities without guaranteeing democratic deepening.

Worked example 2

A sociologist is studying the digital divide in a community of 50,000 households. They find that internet access is strongly correlated with household income.

  • In the top income quintile (10,000 households), 95% have high-speed internet access.
  • In the bottom income quintile (10,000 households), only 65% have high-speed internet access.
  • Of those with access in the bottom quintile, 40% rely solely on mobile data, compared to just 5% in the top quintile.

Calculate: a) The absolute difference in the number of households with high-speed internet access between the top and bottom income quintiles. b) The number of households in the bottom quintile that rely solely on mobile data. c) Using your calculations, briefly explain how this data illustrates the concept of the digital divide.

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Part a) Absolute Difference in Access

  • Step 1: Calculate households with access in the top quintile. 10,000 households × 0.95 = 9,500 households

  • Step 2: Calculate households with access in the bottom quintile. 10,000 households × 0.65 = 6,500 households

  • Step 3: Find the absolute difference. 9,500 - 6,500 = 3,000 households

Answer a): The absolute difference in access is 3,000 households.

Part b) Mobile-Only Reliance in Bottom Quintile

  • Step 1: Use the number of households with access in the bottom quintile from Part a. This is 6,500 households.

  • Step 2: Calculate the number relying solely on mobile data. 6,500 households × 0.40 = 2,600 households

Answer b): 2,600 households in the bottom quintile rely solely on mobile data.

Part c) Sociological Explanation

This data quantifies the digital divide.

  1. First-level divide (Access): The calculation in Part (a) shows a clear gap of 3,000 households, demonstrating that access to new media is unequally distributed by income. This supports the cultural pessimist view that new media can reinforce existing social stratification.
  2. Second-level divide (Quality): The calculation in Part (b) highlights a deeper inequality. The 2,600 households relying on mobile-only internet may face limitations in speed, data caps, and reliability. This affects their ability to participate fully in online education, remote work, and digital citizenship, creating a 'divide within the divide' and further disadvantaging lower-income groups.
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