A Pandemic for the Good of Digital Literacy? An Empirical Investigation of Newly Improved Digital Skills during COVID-19 Lockdowns

This research explores whether the rapid digital transformation due to COVID-19 managed to close or exacerbate the digital divide concerning users' digital skills. We conducted a pre-registered survey with N = 1,143 German Internet users. Our findings suggest the latter: younger, male, and higher educated users were more likely to improve their digital skills than older, female, and less educated ones. According to their accounts, the pandemic helped Internet users improve their skills in communicating with others by using video conference software and reflecting critically upon information they found online. These improved digital skills exacerbated not only positive (e.g., feeling informed and safe) but also negative (e.g., feeling lonely) effects of digital media use during the pandemic.

We discuss this research's theoretical and practical implications regarding the impact of challenges, such as technological disruption and health crises, on humans' digital skills, capabilities, and future potential, focusing on the second-level digital divide.