Adolescents' digital career aspirations: Evidence for gendered pathways in a digital future.

INTRODUCTION: Computers and technology are still perceived as a male domain. As a result of this "digital gender gap" boys aspire careers in the information and communication technology (ICT) branches much more than girls. Guided by the situated expectancy-value theory of motivated behavioral choices, the present study aims to shed light on the predictors of digital career aspirations. METHODS: Self-report questionnaires were completed by 1018 Austrian adolescents (52.3% girls; 72% non-immigrants; Mage = 13.55, SDage = 0.88) attending 61 Grade 7 and 8 classes located in 17 vocational secondary schools between April and June 2019. Individual and class-level predictors of digital career aspirations were investigated with multilevel modeling. RESULTS: Hierarchical linear models revealed that boys, younger adolescents, and second-generation immigrant adolescents had higher levels of digital career aspirations compared to girls, older adolescents, and non-immigrants. Hours spend with the laptop per day, digital self-efficacy and media appraisal positively predicted digital career aspirations on the individual level, while a higher number of immigrants in the classes and higher levels of teacher discussions about media were significant positive predictors on the class level. The model explained 17% of the individual level and 52% of the class level variance. Cross-level interactions were nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS: These results have major implications for educational practice. Most importantly, educational interventions should enhance girls' digital self-efficacy believes and media appraisal. Furthermore, teachers should increase their discussion about digital media as they foster adolescents' digital career aspirations and might prevent future gender segregation in the ICT sector.

Can a "Pandemic Life Adaptation" Digital Technology Curriculum Reduce the Digital Disadvantage of Older Adults During COVID-19? An Intervention Study from Shanghai.

Older adults are at a digital disadvantage because of social stereotypes and a lack of social support; however, smartphones have become a necessary technology to cope with crises and daily life in China, especially during the pandemic. This study aimed to help marginalized older adults take on new tasks by developing digital technology education that used a framework of social cognitive theory in social work. The study followed a quasi-experimental design in which 153 elderly people were recruited from three community service centers; 90 of the participants received 6-weekly intervention. Intent-to-treat analysis, effect size calculations, and sensitivity analysis were conducted. The findings show that digital education significantly enhanced two domains of digital life adaptation abilities: general digital life adaptation abilities [g = .50, 95% CI (.70, 2.69)] and pandemic digital life adaptation abilities [g = .89, 95% CI (.96, 2.07)]. The intervention also improved three domains of digital self-efficacy: sharing and communication [g = .55, 95% CI (.04, .48)], verification [g = .34, 95% CI (.01, .59)], and influencing others [g = .53, 95% CI (.13, .77)]. The study showed that the new intervention approach reduced the harm to vulnerable older adults in the digital wave, especially during the pandemic.