College Students, Networked Knowledge Activities, and Digital Competence

Amid the landscape of digital literacies and frameworks is a common assumption that contemporary youth, frequently dubbed “digital natives,” intuitively understand and use online technologies. While their use of these technologies may be frequent and highly skilled in some respects (e.g., communicating with friends), their use and abilities in other areas, such as those valued in school settings and the workforce, may differ. This survey of 350 college students examines how they use an array of online platforms for everyday life information-seeking purposes, including the frequency with which they engage in different networked knowledge activities. Findings show that while students often use platforms associated with personal networking, such as Instagram, professional platforms like LinkedIn are less commonly used. Students are much more likely to engage in passive online activities than active ones. In particular, skills related to tagging, writing, and creation are infrequently used. Additionally, about half of these college students do not believe social media, which fosters these networked knowledge activities, is relevant to their careers. These findings show opportunities for better developing college students’ digital skill sets, with guidance for skills that might be targeted, taught together, and supported through learning activities in online spaces to prepare college students for digital information tasks in the workplace.