The Digital Divide of Know-How and Use of Digital Technologies in Higher Education: The Case of a College in Latin America in the COVID-19 Era

Judit García-Martín and Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez
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Judit García-Martín: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez: Department of Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy, Universidad de León, 24071 Leon, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: To determine whether or not digital inequalities exist, the frequency, duration, satisfaction, importance, and perceived competence of eighteen groups of digital tools during the COVID-19 pandemic confinement were examined. An online survey was administered to 2882 Latin American university students (49% female; M = 21.3 years). The following items are checked: (1) increased digital inequalities during the pandemic; (2) adequate reliability and validity of the Digital Technology Survey (DTS) instrument; (3) patterns of digital inequalities to the detriment of men, lower strata and unemployed people; and (4) evidence that the importance of digital activities as a causal factor on satisfaction with such digital activities as an outcome is mediated by the purpose of use and communication recipients, but not by strata or employment status, nor moderated by gender. The results are discussed in the light of previous studies, the limitations of the study and future perspectives.

Keywords: COVID-19; digital technologies; digital divide; higher education; Latin America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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