Conference Program

Research to date has largely examined the intensity and type of digital use in relation to well-being and mental health (Twenge & Campbell, 2018; Orben & Przybylski, 2019), while less attention has been devoted to the long-term implications of age at first access for these outcomes (Dempsey et al., 2020). Research addressing the relationship between early digital access and students’ academic and digital competences remains scarce (Respi et al., 2025; Rioseco-Pais et al., 2024; Gui et al., 2020). In this work, we investigate how early exposure to different digital technologies is associated with learning performance and digital competence, and how socio-economic, cultural, and territorial differences shape these dynamics. The study draws on INVALSI data from the Grade 10 (cohort 2024/2025). In addition to standardized test scores in Italian and Mathematics, the dataset includes information on students’ current and past digital use and a newly developed performance-based measure of digital competence aligned with the European DigComp framework, providing a more robust alternative to self-reported indicators commonly used in large-scale surveys (Siddiq et al., 2016; Giganti, 2024). To examine the relationship between age of first access to digital technologies and learning outcomes, we estimate multivariate regression models controlling for students’ socio-economic and cultural background (ESCS), gender, migrant background, school track, and geographical area. Models include both linear and non-linear specifications in order to capture potential threshold effects, and results are adjusted through weighting procedures aimed at improving comparability across groups characterized by different levels of early exposure. Standard errors are clustered at the classroom level to account for shared contextual effects. Findings on the average age of first access to smartphones, messaging apps, and social media are consistent with previous literature. Moreover, students from Southern Italy and those with a migrant background tend to access digital devices at earlier ages, particularly smartphones, messaging apps, and social media platforms. Early access to social media and messaging apps is consistently associated with lower achievement in both Italian and Mathematics. The magnitude of these differences is comparable to, and in some cases larger than, the well-documented gender gaps in Italian and Mathematics. For smartphones, however, the pattern is non-linear: postponing access up to lower secondary school is associated with higher scores, whereas further delay corresponds to a slight decline. A notable exception emerges for early access to personal computers, which is associated with higher academic performance. The relationship with digital competence is more complex: intermediate access to smartphones and messaging apps appears to be associated with the highest levels of competence, while both very early and very late access correspond to lower scores, suggesting a non-linear pattern in which early familiarity does not automatically translate into stronger digital skills. By contrast, access to social media accounts and personal computers follows patterns similar to those observed for academic achievement. Interaction analyses reveal subgroup heterogeneity, particularly by gender, school track and migrant background, although results remain uneven across technologies and outcomes. This study provides evidence to inform educational policies and contribute to reducing digital inequalities.