The Power of Youth: How the Bottom-up Technology Transmission from Children to Parents is Related to Digital (In)equality
Abstract
This study explores to what extent youths’ perceived influence on their parents’ adoption of and learning about digital media is related to digital inequality. Particularly, it investigates whether bottom-up technology transmission is associated with a possible reduction of socioeconomic-, age-, and gender-based digital gaps. Using a dyadic survey conducted in Chile, this study found that youths’ perceived influence on their parents’ adoption of digital media and their learning processes were associated with reductions of socioeconomic gaps in technology use, particularly regarding computer and Internet use.
Keywords
ICTs, digital media, family, youth, socialization, dyadic data, survey