Digital maturity in an algorithmic society: everyday practices of navigation and disconnection among young people

This paper explores how young people in Slovenia navigate life in an algorithmically mediated society. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative research from the Digital Maturity of Youth project — which focuses on the social needs and informal education of young people in the digital age — we examine the experiences, needs, and everyday tactics of young people in relation to digital technologies, media platforms, and information practices.

The empirical material is based on an extensive survey of secondary school students and young adults conducted between 2024 and 2025. Additionally, 15 remote semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 41 participants aged 16–24 from a range of socioeconomic, geographical, and educational backgrounds. Statistical analysis was employed to introduce and further explore the concept of digital maturity, with the aim of presenting its key dimensions. These include the autonomous and self-fulfilling use of technology, the ability to solve digital challenges, and the capacity to establish responsible interactions with others (Laaber et al., 2023). By examining issues faced by young people, their readiness for digitalisation, perceived vulnerabilities, overuse of digital technologies, and strategies for disconnection, core themes relating to digital needs and their associations with dimensions of digital maturity were identified. The empirical section of the paper presents levels of digital maturity and the factors that inhibit or promote it in two samples of young people: 1,612 secondary school students and 579 young adults. The study then focuses on identifying vulnerable and empowered categories of young people based on selected social and cultural distinctions between them, and on identifying strong and weak levels of digital maturity. The findings show that young people feel simultaneously empowered and constrained by digital platforms. They recognise a generational advantage in solving digital problems, yet they are also critical of their overdependence on social media. While the data reveal the dangers of 'screen addiction', this study rejects the stigmatising label, instead emphasising the structural demands of constant connectivity. Their strategies for digital disconnection, which are practices of self-regulation and everyday resistance, are particularly notable in relation to distinctions concerning cultural and digital capital. We argue that young people are not simply naïve digital natives or disillusioned cynics, but active negotiators of their algorithmic environments. Their strategies highlight the burdens of individualised responsibility and the potential for agency within platform-dominated ecologies. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to shift the focus away from the harmful uses of technology and address the knowledge gap surrounding the so-called 'mature uses', while also shedding light on the contexts and factors that significantly impact the digital maturity levels of young individuals.