The outcomes of gaining digital skills for young people’s lives and wellbeing: A systematic evidence review

TLDR

Research and policy have invested in the prospect that gaining digital skills enhances children’s and young people’s outcomes, yet little research has examined the outcomes of communication or creative digital skills. Future research should examine the dimensions of digital skills separately and encompass a wider range of outcomes. The review examined 34 cross‑sectional survey studies of 12‑ to 17‑year‑olds, with two‑thirds focusing on associations with online opportunities or other benefits and the remaining third on online risks of harm. The review found that digital skills are positively associated with online opportunities, information benefits, and technology orientation, that information skills predict positive outcomes while technical skills show mixed or negative effects, and that higher digital skills are indirectly linked to greater exposure to online risks, though a direct link to harm remains unclear.

Abstract

Research and policy have invested in the prospect that gaining digital skills enhances children’s and young people’s outcomes. A systematic evidence review of research on digital skills among 12- to 17-year-olds identified 34 studies that used cross-sectional survey methods to examine the association of digital skills with tangible outcomes. Two-thirds concerned the association with online opportunities or other benefits. Another third examined online risks of harm. Findings showed a positive association between digital skills and online opportunities, information benefits, and orientation to technology. Greater digital skills were indirectly linked to greater exposure to online risks, although any link to harm was unclear. While technical skills were linked with mixed or even negative outcomes, information skills were linked with positive outcomes. There was little research on the outcomes of communication or creative digital skills. Future research should examine the dimensions of digital skills separately and encompass a wider range of outcomes.