Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Digital world — Study Guide

This guide covers the topic Digital world in Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457), using the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). Digital world is one of the 22 topics listed in section 3 of the syllabus, and the list is for all three components: Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project (section 4). Topic knowledge is not assessed. The syllabus says plainly that “knowledge of content is not assessed in this syllabus”, so this page does not ask you to learn facts about technology. It shows you how to use the digital world to practise the skills that are assessed: research, analysis, evaluation, reflection, communication and collaboration.

Use this guide with the Digital world revision notes and the Digital world practice questions. For the whole course, see the IGCSE Global Perspectives hub and the IGCSE Global Perspectives checklist.

What the syllabus asks of you

Syllabus reference	What you must be able to do (from the document)	Where assessed
Section 2, AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation	Research global issues, their causes and consequences and possible courses of action; use evidence to support claims; analyse and evaluate evidence, reasoning and sources; develop a line of reasoning	All components (100% of Component 1)
Section 2, AO2 Reflection	Consider different perspectives objectively and with empathy; justify your own perspective with evidence and reasoning; consider how research and teamwork influenced your learning	Components 2 and 3
Section 2, AO3 Communication and collaboration	Present arguments, evidence and perspectives clearly; include citations and references; contribute to the Team Project	Components 2 and 3
Section 3, topic list and key terms	Use a topic such as Digital world as a context; use the syllabus meanings of issue, perspective, research, evidence and argument	All components
Section 4, Component 1	Analyse sources; evaluate research and suggest ways to test a claim; evaluate arguments; assess actions. Understand bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest	Written Exam, 1 hour 25 minutes, 70 marks
Section 4, Component 2	Research a global issue that divides opinion; local and/or national and global perspectives; causes, consequences, courses of action; evaluate sources; reach your own view	Individual Report, 1500–2000 words, 60 marks
Section 4, Component 3	Identify a local issue as a team; research different perspectives; plan, carry out and measure an action; reflect	Team Project, 70 marks

The syllabus defines an issue as “an important subject or problem for discussion” and a perspective as “a viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning”. Digital world is the topic. The issue is the specific problem you choose inside it.

Issues in the digital world at global, national and local level

A topic is too broad to argue about. You need an issue that divides opinion. Here are some issues inside Digital world, shown at three levels.

Issue	Global level	National level	Local level
The digital divide	Unequal internet access between countries	Rural areas with weaker connections than cities	Students without a device or data at home
Young people and social media	Platforms used across borders	Laws on minimum ages for accounts	School rules on phones in class
Personal data and privacy	Companies storing data in many countries	Data protection laws	Cameras or apps used in one town
False information online	Fake images and videos shared worldwide	Effects on elections or public health messages	Rumours spreading in a community group chat
Cashless payments	Mobile money and card use growing	Banks closing branches	Older residents who rely on cash

Key terms. Learn these as tools for describing issues, not as content to recite.

• Digital divide: the gap between people who have good access to digital technology and the skills to use it, and people who do not.
• Digital inclusion: making sure everyone can access and use digital services.
• Data privacy: people’s control over how information about them is collected, stored and shared.
• Misinformation: false information shared without intent to mislead. Disinformation is false information shared on purpose.
• Algorithm: a set of rules a computer follows; on platforms, it decides what each user sees.
• Screen time: time spent using devices with screens.

Real-world examples you could research. Check each against reliable sources before you use it in coursework.

• Internet access. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency, estimated in 2024 that about 5.5 billion people were online and about 2.6 billion were still offline. Strength: an international body collecting data from many countries. Limitation: it is an estimate, and a global figure hides big differences within each country.
• Data protection. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has applied since 25 May 2018. It gives people rights over their personal data. Strength: it shows a national-level (here, regional) course of action you can analyse. Limitation: a law on paper does not show how well it is enforced; you would need further evidence.
• Social media age limits. Australia passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act in 2024. It requires certain platforms to stop under-16s holding accounts, and it took effect in December 2025. Perspectives: supporters argue it protects young people; critics question how ages can be checked and whether young people will move to less regulated sites. Limitation: it is recent, so evidence of its effects is still limited.
• Mobile money. M-Pesa, launched in Kenya in 2007, lets people send and store money by mobile phone. It is often cited as an example of technology reaching people without bank accounts. Limitation: what worked in one country may not transfer to another with different networks, laws or habits.

Perspectives: who thinks what, and why

The syllabus asks you to understand “why different people have different perspectives”. In the digital world, perspectives usually differ because of:

• Values. One person values safety most; another values freedom of expression or privacy.
• Experience. A student who learned online during a school closure may see technology differently from a teacher who saw students fall behind.
• Vested interest. A company that sells devices gains if schools buy more of them.
• Position. A government must balance the whole country; a local shop owner thinks about costs this month.

Worked example: perspectives on phones in schools. A teacher may argue that phones distract students. A parent may want their child reachable on the way home. A student may say phones help with research. A national education ministry may focus on results across all schools. These views differ because each person has different responsibilities and different things to lose. Your job is to explain the reasoning behind each, with empathy, before you judge.

Causes and consequences

Analysis means showing how one thing leads to another. Build chains, not lists.

Example chain: older people and cashless payments. Banks close branches because more customers bank online (cause). An older person who does not use online banking must travel further to pay in cash (consequence). That person may become more dependent on relatives, or may stop shopping locally (further consequence). The local shop may lose customers (knock-on consequence for the community).

Notice the links: because, so, as a result, this means that. Each link is a small piece of reasoning an examiner can credit.

Judging sources and evidence

The syllabus says candidates “will benefit from an understanding of the following: bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest”. Here they are applied to statements you might meet about the digital world. All statements below are invented for practice.

Term	Meaning	Invented digital-world example
Claim	A statement that something is true, which may need support	“Online learning works as well as classroom learning.”
Fact	Something that can be checked and shown to be true or false	“The town library has 12 public computers.”
Opinion	A personal view that cannot be proved	“Video calls are less friendly than meeting in person.”
Generalisation	A broad statement about a whole group	“Teenagers are addicted to their phones.”
Prediction	A statement about the future	“By 2035, cash will disappear completely.”
Value	A belief about what matters	“Privacy is more important than convenience.”
Vested interest	A person or group gains from a particular outcome	An app company publishing research on the benefits of apps
Bias	A one-sided presentation, often from a vested interest or strong value	An article quoting only users who enjoy a platform

How to judge reliability. Ask five questions of any source:

1. Who wrote it? Do they have expertise in this area?
2. Why? To inform, to persuade or to sell?
3. When? Digital issues change fast, so an old source may be out of date.
4. How was the evidence gathered? Sample size, who was asked, self-reported or measured.
5. Does other evidence agree? Corroboration from an independent source makes a claim stronger.

Worked example paragraph (evaluating evidence). Source X, written by a company that makes tablets, claims that “tablets improve learning” and supports this with a survey in which most parents agreed digital skills matter for jobs. [Analysis] The evidence does not match the claim: parents agreeing that digital skills matter is not evidence that tablets improve learning, so there is a gap in the reasoning. [Evaluation] The author also has a vested interest, because the company gains if schools buy tablets, which weakens the source’s credibility. [Judgement] The claim is therefore weakly supported; it would be stronger if independent research compared the results of students with and without tablets.

Courses of action

A course of action is a step a person, group or government could take to change, improve or resolve the issue. Judge each one against clear criteria:

• Effectiveness: would it tackle the cause, or only a symptom?
• Feasibility: is it affordable and realistic?
• Who benefits and who loses?
• Unintended consequences: could it create a new problem?
• Sustainability: would it last? The syllabus encourages you to consider sustainability.

Worked example paragraph (assessing an action). One course of action for older residents excluded by cashless payments is free digital skills classes at the library. [Application] This tackles a cause of the problem, because the source shows many older residents do not use online banking. [Analysis] However, some residents may not own a smartphone, so classes alone would not include them. [Evaluation] A second action, requiring shops to accept cash, helps those residents at once but adds costs for shop owners. [Judgement] Classes are the better long-term action because they build lasting skills, but they work best alongside a short-term guarantee that cash is still accepted.

Individual Report ideas

The syllabus asks for a global research question on an issue “that divides opinion”, explored through local and/or national and global perspectives, ending with a single proposed course of action and your own view.

Strong question shapes:

• Should governments set a minimum age for social media accounts?
• Should facial recognition technology be used in public places?
• Is it right for countries to move towards cashless economies?
• Should schools replace printed textbooks with digital devices?

Each one asks “should”, so it divides opinion. “Social media” alone is a topic, not a question. Plan for at least one local or national perspective and one global perspective, and record full references as you go.

Team Project ideas

The Team Project needs a local issue and an action the team can carry out and measure. Ideas within Digital world:

• Older people in your area struggling with online services. Action: run a short help session. Measure: a before-and-after confidence survey.
• Online safety in younger year groups. Action: create and deliver a lesson. Measure: a quiz before and after.
• Students without devices at home. Action: a device-recycling drive with the school. Measure: the number of devices collected and passed on.

Each team member researches a different perspective, such as students, parents, teachers or local businesses. See the Team Project study guide.

Common errors

• Writing everything you know about technology. Knowledge is not credited; skills are.
• Choosing “the internet” or “social media” as an issue. These are topics; you need a debatable problem.
• Listing perspectives without explaining why each person holds them.
• Calling a source “biased” without naming the vested interest or value behind it.
• Treating a survey of opinions as proof of an effect, such as “most people think screens harm sleep” as proof that they do.
• Proposing an action with no criteria, or proposing a national law for a Team Project that the team cannot carry out.
• Forgetting that digital sources date quickly; always note when a source was published.

Where to go next

• Digital world revision notes and practice questions
• The Written Exam study guide and Written Exam revision notes
• Individual Report study guide and Individual Report revision notes
• Team Project revision notes

Official syllabus

This guide is based on the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025), sections 2, 3 and 4. Your teacher will confirm how your school uses the Digital world topic across the three components.