The German Youth Institute (DJI, Deutsche Jugendinstitut in German) presented in February 2010 the findings of the 'Digital Divide - Digital Competence in Childhood' research project.

The use of various digital means has been increasingly penetrated into the work and private lives of adults and this is main reason why digital literacy is highly required. The question though remains as to how digital skills are acquired during childhood and adolescence. Therefore, the current study examines the conditions under which children and young people acquire digital skills and provides fundamental insights into the development of information technology behaviour among 10-14 year-old persons when dealing with the digital media.

The DJI study explains that the educational gap between the children and teenage users cannot constitute a determinant factor at this point. There is rather an internal difference in the examined groups based on age and gender. A general observation is that the Internet is used by youngsters as a means to communicate and entertain themselves and that these are activities through which they acquire basic digital skills. Parents and schools play a decisive motivation role for the use of the Internet as a source of education.

The major findings of the current study can be summarised as follows:

• Offline is the exception:
  Main characteristics of the small percentage of offline users are the economic resources of the family, the 'single parent' status and the educational level.
• Fun with friends takes precedence:
  Children use the Internet mainly to have fun and to relax. The use of the Internet in order to obtain Information and do research are often linked with school activities. Apart from playing, children develop along with their age peers a so-called 'network culture' which is often the case with the online user who stays in contact with friends from school via the Internet.
• Younger ones play - older ones communicate:
  Online games and information for research purposes are priorities among the 10 to 11 year-old children. The shift from playing online to communicating via the Internet is being observed in the ages of 13 to 14 years old.
• Internet use is primarily age and gender dependent:
  In the ages of 13 to 14 the emergence of gender-specific usage areas is being witnessed: girls communicate mainly via the Internet (25%) or over the mobile phone (25%), whereas boys play more off-and online (14%).
• The use of the Internet is less class-specific:
  The use of the Internet depends less on the social class the young users belong to and more on their age and gender.
• Boys / male adolescents from educated families use the Internet more:
  The question of whether different digital means can bring advantages or disadvantages in children's and teenagers' educational level cannot be answered unequivocally. It is remarkable, however, that it is especially the male respondents coming from families with high educational level who make use of the Internet more often than the ones coming from less educated families.

The 'Digital Divide - Digital Competence in Childhood' project is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Further information:

• Original news article - German Youth Institute (in German)
• The German Youth Institute (in German)
• German Youth Institute (DJI) Online Topic (in German)
• 'Digital Divide - Digital Competence in Childhood' project (in German and in English)