Digital inequalities amongst digital natives

Young people still encounter obstacles to participation in digital societies. Analyses of internationally comparative datasets show that inequalities exist in access, skills, digital media use, and the positive and negative outcomes achieved from this. Socio-economic disadvantage and low literacy relate to lower levels of access and use; age and gender differences relate to a reliance on public connections, lower skill levels, narrow engagement, and less positive outcomes; socio-emotionally vulnerable youth with high literacy levels are more likely to experience negative outcomes. The chapter concludes that inequalities will persist into the future unless disadvantaged youths’ socio-digital environments change.