Perceived discrimination and digital inequalities among children and young people: studying the multidimensional concepts of digital skills and digital knowledge

ABSTRACT

Although young people spend increasing amounts of time on the internet, many caveats remain in the literature with regard to the development of digital skills. We focus on the influence of perceived discrimination given its strong link with youth development. We also consider the multidimensional nature of digital skills, focusing on five dimensions, and on digital knowledge. Using online survey data from 6221 children and young people aged 12–20 in six European countries, we seek to understand how discriminated youths may differ from their more advantaged peers with respect to digital skills. The findings show that young people who are discriminated against generally hold greater digital skills than their counterparts who are not being discriminated against. The relationship between perceived discrimination and digital skills is partially mediated by peer support and internet use. We discuss these findings in light of young people’s increased social isolation due to discrimination.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• digital skills
• digital knowledge
• discrimination
• internet use

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See www.eukidsonline.net.

2 Approval for this study was obtained from the KU Leuven Social and Societal Ethics Committee (case number G-2019 11 1813).

Additional information

Funding

The research reported here is part of the project Youth Skills (ySKILLS) and received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Programme [grant agreement no. 870612].

Notes on contributors

David De Coninck

David De Coninck is postdoctoral researcher and Guest Professor at the Centre for Sociological Research and the Institute for Media Studies at KU Leuven (Belgium). His research interests are intergroup relations, with a particular interest in media effects, deservingness perceptions, and ethnic discrimination.

Joyce Vissenberg

Joyce Vissenberg is a PhD student at the Institute for Media Studies at KU Leuven (Belgium). Her research focuses on young people's media literacy and digital skills, where she pays special attention to news literacy and credibility evaluation skills.

Willem Joris

Willem Joris is postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Media Studies at KU Leuven (Belgium) and Guest Professor in Communication Sciences at VUB (Belgium). He is an expert on the media coverage of the EU, media and diversity (e.g., migrants and refugees, or LGBTQ), and digital skills in the 21st century (with a focus on vulnerable young people). He is Project Manager of H2020 project ySKILLS.

Leen d’Haenens

Leen d'Haenens is Full Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at KU Leuven (Belgium). She is an expert on European media policy and its impact on citizens. She has particular expertise on the performance of private and public service media outlets as well as social media platforms and their impact on children and adolescents, with a focus on vulnerable young people with a migration background. She is the Project Coordinator of ySKILLS.