Multivariate Analysis Methods to Distinguish Adolescents’ Attitudes on Digital Consumption and Skills, Opinions on Technologies, and Adults’ Views

Do the type and amount of owned digital devices, time spent using them, and household habits in daily life allow us to distinguish groups of students that differ in personal features, perception of their digital skills, opinions on technologies, and communicating choices made by their parents or the adults that have a relevant role in their lives? The study here presented analyzed the results of a questionnaire administered to students of a high school in Reggio Emilia (Italy) as part of a mixed-methods research and, using multivariate analysis techniques (Multidimensional Scaling and Cluster Analysis), provides a clustering of around 300 students that replied to the survey. Four clusters emerged, differing in the number of owned devices and the time spent using them. This classification suggests four students’ behaviors towards technologies: device-oriented, strengths oriented, meaning-oriented, and use-oriented.