A Decade of Digital Literacy: Comparing Business Economics Students' Competencies from Generation Y to Z

Abstract

Digital literacy is a necessity in today’s global environment, represented by a digital and data-driven economy. In such settings, being able to use digital technology effectively and efficiently is nowadays a key part of educational and career success. As each new generation of students enrolls at the university with varied technical backgrounds, it is important that curriculum design account for how digital skills evolve. The goal of this research is to examine the differences between Generation Y students surveyed in 2014 and Generation Z students surveyed in 2024 regarding their digital literacy and attitudes towards learning information technology. A longitudinal, cross-sectional study used the same questionnaire based on a three-dimensional digital-literacy framework to collect
data from first-year business economics students in both years. The results demonstrate that, although self-ratings remain essentially unchanged, Generation Z is more confident in utilising mobile devices for learning, fixing technical problems on their own, and collaborating online. These findings imply that students' skill levels have improved after exposure to a broader digital environment, underscoring the need for tailored teaching methods that do not assume Generation Z is equally digitally fluent.