Based on Bourdieu’s theory, this article focuses on the third-level digital divide in relation to offline outcomes of Internet use. Based on 30 in-depth qualitative interviews with young people in Madrid, we analyzed the mechanisms used to convert three main forms of capital—economic, cultural, and social—into digital capital (DC) and the subsequent reconversion of DC back into the three main forms of capital. We conclude that economic capital is the most basic form of digital inequality, imposing material barriers to access. Cultural capital is transformed into DC through people’s techno-socialization, while social capital is converted into DC by means of social practices and social support. DC can be retransformed into each of the three main forms of capital: to economic capital by means of professional networking and access to goods; to cultural capital through access to knowledge; and into social capital by the differential management of social ties.

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This paper explores the three levels of digital divide among young people living in the region of Madrid (Spain). We use a qualitative approach, based on 20 in-depth interviews, in order to describe the personal process of Internet appropriation among this collective, taking into account the differences associated to gender, age, education, geographical habitat and type of technology use. Taking into account the three levels of the digital divide, we explore 5 important barriers (access, skills, motivation, emotions and utility) that influence the type of use of digital technologies by young people. We conclude that, even among youngsters who frequently use digital technologies, there are important asymmetries and barriers that limit the utility they can get from them, related to their sociocultural background and their personal processes of technological socialization.

En este artículo analizamos las principales perfiles y problemáticas experimentadas por el alumnado de secundaria y estudios universitarios para continuar el curso académico durante el confinamiento debido a la pandemia del COVID-19. A partir de un análisis cuantitativo bivariado y multivariable, mostramos cómo los grupos sociales más vulnerables (clase baja, nacionalidad extranjera) han tenido más dificultades para continuar con la educación online. Además, elaboramos una tipología de dificultades experimentadas por el alumnado (Q1-sin problemas importantes, Q2-problemas técnicos, Q3-problemas psico-sociales, Q4-problemas de competencias) que nos permiten dimensionar los diferentes tipos de dificultades según las características sociodemográficas de los sujetos. La falta de competencias es la problemática más extendida para continuar con los estudios, si bien las condiciones estructurales (falta de tiempo y espacio, acceso a las TIC, estado anímico, etc.) son especialmente relevantes entre los grupos sociales más vulnerables (clase social baja, áreas rurales, mujeres).