Many video calls in 2020 started with “Can you hear me?” Digital work was nonetheless comparatively unusual in Germany on the time, and lots of struggled with each the expertise and the brand new type of communication. A latest study by 4 WISNA professors from the University of Duisburg-Essen has examined whether or not the COVID-19 lockdowns really improved the digital expertise of individuals in Germany. The study has been introduced on the Conference of Human-Computer Interaction (CHI 2025), which passed off in late April in Yokohama, Japan.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted many individuals to enhance their digital expertise—both deliberately or as a pure consequence of modified residing, {learning}, and dealing situations. However, the research by the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) reveals vital disparities: younger, male, higher-educated people and people residing in city areas had been more than likely to reinforce their digital competencies through the pandemic. While different social teams additionally made progress, it was comparatively restricted—the divide regarding digital literacy persists.
The study is predicated on a survey of 1,143 people aged 18 to 87 residing in Germany who use the web recurrently. It assessed a variety of digital competencies—from taking part in video conferences to conducting focused on-line searches.
One of the central findings: The improvement of digital expertise through the lockdowns was related to blended feelings. “The extra people improved digital competencies, the stronger had been their emotions of connectedness and safety—but in addition of loneliness,” explains media psychologist German Neubaum, one of many study’s authors. This highlights that digital communication can partially, however not totally, meet individuals’s social wants.
The speedy digitalization of on a regular basis life through the pandemic, together with the so-called infodemic—an amazing surge of each true and false data—additionally made it clear which digital expertise will probably be important sooner or later. “According to individuals, it’s essential that web customers discover ways to higher establish misinformation, distinguish reliable from unreliable sources, and assess the implications of their very own actions on-line,” Neubaum continues. Respondents additionally recognized the infodemic as a key drawback in our digitalized society, with faculties and politicians additionally having a accountability.
The paper is revealed within the journal Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
More data:
German Neubaum et al, A Pandemic for the Good of Digital Literacy? An Empirical Investigation of Newly Improved Digital Skills throughout COVID-19 Lockdowns, Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2025). DOI: 10.1145/3706598.3713148
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University of Duisburg-Essen
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Did the pandemic lockdowns enhance digital expertise? ( 6)
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