Self-confidence and digital proficiency: Determinants of digital skills perceptions among young people in Spain

Abstract

The necessity of introducing telework and online education due to the COVID-19 crisis has drawn attention to the problem of digital inequalities among young people. Besides access and connectivity problems, the lockdown has shown a gap between young people’s self-perceived level of digital skills (which is generally high) and their actual digital performance, they tend to experience important difficulties associated with the second-level digital divide. Most of the empirical evidence about digital skills relies on index construction based on variables about digital tasks or practices that people can fulfill. Nevertheless, there is no evidence about the sociological and biographical determinants that influence subjects’ self-perception of their level of digital skills, particularly among young people, since this generational group is generally associated with a high level of digital skills. Therefore, in this article we will measure the influence of different sociological and biographical aspects (gender, age, education, forms of digital accessibility, digital practices, itineraries of digital literacy along their life, etc.) over declaring a certain level of digital skills. The outcomes show the importance of socio-demographic factors and of the processes of appropriation of technology when young people perceive their level of digital performance, which are only partially related to socioeconomic situations, since digital vulnerability is mediated by acquired cultural patterns over the use of technology.

Before and Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Self-Perception of Digital Skills in Saudi Arabia Higher Education: A Longitudinal Study

“…This study shows how the transition to pandemic conditions affected self-perceptions of digital skills, which could be related to cognitive skills problems, stress, or anxiety. The previous argument was supported by Portillo et al (2020) [ 44 ], Ma et al (2021) [ 45 ], and Calderón, Ortí and Kuric (2022) [ 13 ], who found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on academic aspects that influence lifestyles.…”

“…Hence, the current article is focused on digital skills (DS) as part of 21st-century skills. Previous publications defined six sub-skills of the (DS): digital information skills, digital communication skills, digital collaboration skills, critical thinking digital skills, creative digital skills, and problem-solving digital skills, as in the following concepts ( Table 1 ) [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

“…Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities underwent a paradigm shift in their approach to teaching and learning, recognizing the value of utilizing technology and virtual teaching platforms [ 34 ]. Moreover, multiple kinds of literature worldwide have shown incidence shifts in self-perception of the digital skills of higher education students [ 13 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic caused universities to change their educational approach and embrace technology and virtual learning platforms. Many different types of research have been conducted worldwide showing the incidence of changes in attitudes, behaviors, and self-perceptions about digital skills, behaviors, enablement, and competencies among students [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The majority of the research looked at how students perceived their own digital skills either before the pandemic [ 11 , 12 ] or while it was in progress [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Many different types of research have been conducted worldwide showing the incidence of changes in attitudes, behaviors, and self-perceptions about digital skills, behaviors, enablement, and competencies among students [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The majority of the research looked at how students perceived their own digital skills either before the pandemic [ 11 , 12 ] or while it was in progress [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Nevertheless, there was not a single study that compared the situation before and during the pandemic.…”