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Sources of individual differences in adults' ICT skills: a large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
[journal article]
Abstract We develop an integrative conceptual framework that seeks to explain individual differences in the ability to use information and communication technologies (ICT skills). Building on practice engagement theory, this framework views the continued usage of digital technologies at work and in everyday ... view more
We develop an integrative conceptual framework that seeks to explain individual differences in the ability to use information and communication technologies (ICT skills). Building on practice engagement theory, this framework views the continued usage of digital technologies at work and in everyday life (ICT use) as the key prerequisite for the acquisition of ICT skills. At the same time, the framework highlights that ICT use is itself contingent upon individual and contextual preconditions. We apply this framework to data from two recent German large-scale studies (N = 2,495 and N = 2,786, respectively) that offer objective measures of adults’ ICT skills. Findings support our framework’s view of ICT use as a key prerequisite for ICT skills. Moreover, they demonstrate that literacy skills have strong associations with ICT skills, largely by virtue of their indirect associations through ICT use. By comparison, regional digital cultures (as proxied by internet domain registration rates) evince only limited explanatory power for individual differences in ICT skills.... view less
Keywords
competence; information technology; adult; Federal Republic of Germany; digitalization; communication technology; everyday life; occupation
Classification
Media Pedagogics
Interactive, electronic Media
Free Keywords
PIAAC; ICT skills
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 1-18
Journal
PLOS ONE, 16 (2021) 4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249574
ISSN
1932-6203
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0
FundingThe publication was supported by the Leibniz Association's Open Access Publishing Fund for articles in open access journals.