Research Papers

Digital maturity: Development and validation of the Digital Maturity Inventory (DIMI)

Researchers from the EU-funded DIGYMATEX project,  have published a scientific paper detailing a key part of the project, titled “Digital maturity: Development and validation of the Digital Maturity Inventory (DIMI)”.

The scientific article by DIGYMATEX researchers Franziska Laaber, Arnd Florack and Teresa Koch from the Department of Occupational, Economic and Social Psychology at the University of Vienna, together with Marco Hubert from the Department of Management at Aarhus University, has been published in volume 143, June 2023, of Computers in Human Behavior.

Understanding Children’s Digital Maturity: A Socio-Technical Perspective

DIGYMATEX researchers Aqib Siddiqui and Konstantina Valogianni, both of the IE Business School, wrote a research paper on applying machine learning to cluster and classify young IT users according to their levels of digital maturity and intensity of use.  The paper was presented at the Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST) 2022 in Indiana, USA.

In their research, Siddiqui and Valogianni closely investigated how children use digital technologies (ICT), in order to identify various digital maturity levels based on their use patterns, and group them accordingly. They used the general lens of psychosocial maturity in a digital context, together with the concept of digital maturity as organised along nine key dimensions.

TOWARDS A MODEL OF TECHNOLOGY USAGE AND DIGITAL MATURITY IN CHILDREN: A GROUNDED-THEORY APPROACH

Researchers with the EU-funded DIGYMATEX project, Alvaro Arenas and Pouye Yazdi from IE Business School, published a research paper on technology usage by children and digital maturity. The study was presented at the 2022 European Conference on Information Systems, ECIS 2022, in Timisoara, Romania.

The research is based on data collected in five focus groups with 20 Spanish children. Applying grounded theory method, Arenas and Yazdi developed a model of technology usage comprising three main elements: perceived socio-technical environment, technology usage and experiences, and reactions to technology usage. 

Likes and impulsivity: Investigating the relationship between actual smartphone use and delay discounting

Researchers with the EU-funded DIGYMATEX project at the Freie Universität Berlin, Tim Schulz van Endert and Peter N. C. Mohr, found a positive relationship between hours of smartphone use and impulsive decision making, through an experiment focusing on delayed gratification. The study was published in PLOS ONE on 18 November 2020, in an article entitled “Likes and impulsivity: Investigating the relationship between actual smartphone use and delay discounting”.

The study indicates that use of digital devices can have moderately negative effects on children’s mental health and socio-emotional development, with the extent of the damage varying widely, depending on the quantity and quality of the child’s specific screen-time activities.

Emerging Digital Generations? Impacts of Child Digital Use on Mental and Socioemotional Well-Being across Two Cohorts in Ireland, 2007–2018

A new academic study by DIGYMATEX researchers Melissa Bohnert and Dr. Pablo Gracia, of Trinity College Dublin’s Department of Sociology, published in the 31 August 2020 issue of Child Indicators Research, the official Journal of the International Society for Child Indicators.

The study indicates that use of digital devices can have moderately negative effects on children’s mental health and socio-emotional development, with the extent of the damage varying widely, depending on the quantity and quality of the child’s specific screen-time activities.

When Social Interaction Backfires: Frequent Social Interaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Associated With Decreased Well-Being and Higher Panic Buying

A new academic study by DIGYMATEX researcher Prof. Arnd Florack and Dr. Hyunji Kim of the University of Vienna, published in the July 2021 issue of Frontiers in Psychology Journal.

The paper suggests that conversions on social network sites were related to reduced well-being and increased panic buying in the first days of the pandemic and it shows a backfiring effect of these communications which are usually thought to reduce the stress level.