Open AccessDigital practices, young people, and gender
Author(s) -
Eduarda Ferreira,
Lídia Marôpo,
Catarina Delgado,
Maria do Rosário Rodrigues,
Patrícia Dias,
João Torres
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
first monday
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1396-0466
pISSN - 1396-0458
DOI - 10.5210/fm.v26i12.11787
Subject(s) - focus group , psychology , the internet , gender gap , information and communications technology , ninth , space (punctuation) , developmental psychology , sociology , computer science , world wide web , physics , anthropology , economics , acoustics , demographic economics , operating system
Digital practices are ever more present in our daily lives, and in particular young peoples’ lives are embedded in online activities. Digital technologies are shaping the way we work, communicate, socialize, participate, and interact with the physical world. It is crucial to understand how young people are using digital technologies to make sense of the world around them. Considering the persistent gender gap in information and communication technologies (ICT), for example, boys having higher confidence in their digital skills and more girls than boys perceive the Internet as an unsafe space, it is of particular importance to understand how young people are coping with the competences needed to live in a digital age. This paper presents a gender-based analysis of the results of the project ‘Information Skills for Young People in the Digital Age’ implemented in Setúbal, Portugal. Students from the fifth to ninth grade, 230 girls and 199 boys, aged 10 to 17 years old, answered an online questionnaire, and 30 students, 13 boys and 14 girls, participated in focus groups. The results analysis highlights gender differences and aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of digital practices among girls and boys in Portugal.