The digital divide in the playstation generation: Self-efficacy, locus of control and ICT adoption among adolescents

Most research on the digital divide has focused on its socio-demographic correlates. Results indicate that age, gender and education, in particular, are major factors structuring the digital divide. So pervasive is the presence of age differences in the literature that many observers believe that the digital divide is basically a generational phenomenon that, in time, will disappear as younger computer literate cohorts replace older non-users. However, some researchers call this assumption into question. Moreover, the dominant focus on socio-demographics has led to a relative neglect of psychological factors as possible explanations for differential adoption and use of ICT. Consequently, the present study employs the social cognitive and self-efficacy theories of Bandura (1986, 1997) and the locus of control construct of Rotter (1966) in order to investigate some psychological correlates of the digital divide among a representative sample of Flemish adolescents (n = 1145). The results indicate that computer locus of control and ICT self-efficacy supplement socio-demographic explanations of the digital divide. The results, however, are gender specific, indicating that there are different processes operating for males and females.