The digitalization tendency of young adults: differences by living environment, gender and education

PurposeThis study investigates the differences in digitalization tendency levels among young adults (18–30) regarding their living environment, gender, and education.Design/methodology/approachDigital transformation (DT) refers to digital technologies becoming more prevalent in society. This process transforms lifestyles and business models using information and communication technologies. While digital transformation is on everyone’s agenda worldwide, it is still in its infancy. The data collected from 1,067 young adults show that all three control variables, living environment (CV1), gender (CV2), and education level (CV3), have a significant impact on digitalization tendency. Samples are selected using stratified sampling. Frequency distributions of quantitative data, descriptive statistics, ANOVA analysis, independent sample t-tests, reliability and validity analysis are interpreted in SPSS.FindingsIt is concluded from the study that the young adults living in Istanbul are more inclined to use digital technologies and to see the process from the standpoint of its positive results. It is observed that women have a higher digitalization tendency than men. Finally, the tendency to use digital technologies increases with education level, as does the likelihood of perceiving the outputs of these technologies as positive.Research limitations/implicationsThe study limited the sample to young adults aged 18–30.Originality/valueDigitalization tendencies are positively influenced by factors such as living in Istanbul, being a woman, and having a high education level.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-01-2023-0020.