Recent studies have revealed a close link between students’ social background and their acquisition of digital competencies. This study investigates i) whether social disparities in digital competencies are increasing or decreasing over time, and ii) the primary mechanisms driving these changes. Using data from the German sample of the large-scale ‘International Computer and Information Literacy Study’ (ICILS), we analyse the digital competencies of secondary school students and their home and school learning environments in 2013, 2018 and 2023. Theoretically, we draw on the Theory of Effectively Maintained Inequality and hypothesise how social differences in digital competencies have evolved in the digital age. Through linear regression and decomposition techniques, our findings indicate that social differences in students’ digital competencies have increased significantly over the past decade. Over the entire observation period, the cultural home environment and school type are the primary factors driving social differences in digital competencies. Their relevance increases over time in proportion to the overall rise in social differences in digital competencies. The mechanisms of inequality in digital competencies closely mirror those in other areas of social inequality. However, it is also apparent that an increasing proportion of the competence differences by social background remains unexplained over time, suggesting the need for an in-depth analysis. • Social inequality in students’ digital competencies grew in Germany from 2013 to 2023. • Digital access at home improved for all social groups and cannot explain increasing inequalities. • Cultural home environment and school type are key drivers of digital disparities. • The absolute increase in inequality is linked to the cultural and school learning environment. • Rising share of digital inequality remains unexplained, indicating hidden factors.
Lörz et al. (2026) studied this question.