Investigation and analysis of digital poverty among adolescents in China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the status quo of digital poverty among adolescents in China, analyze the characteristics and the causes, then propose countermeasures to provide reference for alleviating digital poverty among adolescents.Design/methodology/approachThe study developed an initial scale of digital poverty among adolescents and used survey data to revise the scale, on this basis, formed a questionnaire, which was distributed to nationwide adolescents. The study developed its findings from the 837 valid questionnaire respondents.FindingsThe digital poverty among adolescents is mainly shown in the poverty of digital ability, digital psychology and digital environment and presents the following characteristics, that is, insufficient information seeking ability and information selection ability needing to be improved; equipped with basic information awareness but lack of information evaluation ability; lack of patience in obtaining information and inclined to the principle of least effort; imperfect knowledge structure and immature psychological emotions and vulnerable to external interference; having a certain relationship with the information environment, but not significantly affected by regional economic differences. Finally, the study puts forward countermeasures to alleviate digital poverty among adolescents.Practical implicationsUnderstanding of the digital poverty among adolescents will likely demand rethinking into a number of issues ignored by information poverty studies.Originality/valueFew studies focus on digital poverty among adolescents. This study developed an initial scale of digital poverty among adolescents and revised it by survey data, then conducted an empirical study through questionnaire, which could expand the understanding of information poverty in the field of library and information science.