Title page
Contents
Digital Literacy 2
Previous Research 3
Data and Methods 3
Study Questions 5
1. How do different groups of adults in the United States compare on digital literacy? 6
2. How does the United States compare to other developed countries on digital literacy? 13
3. How does the United States compare to other developed countries on computer use at work and in everyday life? 14
Technical Notes 17
References 21
Appendix A: Data Tables 22
Appendix B: Standard Error Tables 28
FIGURE 1. DIGITAL LITERACY RATES Percentage distribution of digital literacy status among U.S. adults ages 16-65: 2012 3
FIGURE 2. DIGITAL LITERACY RATES Rate of digital literacy among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by educational attainment: 2012 6
FIGURE 3. DISTRIBUTION OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Percentage distribution of educational attainment among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by digital literacy status: 2012 7
FIGURE 4. DIGITAL LITERACY BY GENDER AND NATIVITY Rate of digital literacy among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by gender and by nativity status: 2012 7
FIGURE 5. DISTRIBUTIONS OF GENDER AND NATIVITY Percentage distributions of gender and nativity status among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by digital literacy status: 2012 8
FIGURE 6. DIGITAL LITERACY BY AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY Rate of digital literacy among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by age and by race/ethnicity: 2012 9
FIGURE 7. DISTRIBUTIONS OF AGE AND RACE/ETHNICITY Percentage distributions of age and race/ethnicity among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by digital literacy status: 2012 10
FIGURE 8. DIGITAL LITERACY BY EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE STATUS Rate of digital literacy among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by employment and labor force status: 2012 11
FIGURE 9. RATES OF LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT Labor force participation rate and employment rate among U.S. adults ages 16-65, by digital literacy status: 2012 11
FIGURE 10. DIGITAL LITERACY BY OCCUPATION SKILL-LEVEL Rate of digital literacy among U.S. workers ages 16-65, by occupation skill-level: 2012 12
FIGURE 11. DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATION SKILL-LEVEL Percentage distribution of occupation skill-level of U.S. workers ages 16-65, by digital literacy status: 2012 12
FIGURE 12. DIGITAL LITERACY BY COUNTRY Percentage of adults ages 16-65 who are not digitally literate, by country: 2012 13
FIGURE 13. COMPUTER USE AT WORK, BY COUNTRY Percentage of working adults ages 16-65 who use computers at work, by country: 2012 14
FIGURE 14. COMPUTER USE IN EVERYDAY LIFE, BY COUNTRY Percentage of adults ages 16-65 who use computers in everyday life, by country: 2012 15
Exhibits
Exhibit 1. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2
Exhibit 2. PIAAC profciency levels for problem solving in technology-rich environments (PS-TRE) and groups that did not participate in the PS-TRE competency domain 19
Table A-1. Percentage distribution of digital literacy status among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by demographic characteristic: 2012 22
Table A-2. Percentage distribution of each demographic characteristic among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by digital literacy status: 2012 23
Table A-3. Percentage distribution of digital literacy status among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by employment characteristic: 2012 24
Table A-4. Percentage distribution of each employment characteristic among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by digital literacy status: 2012 25
Table A-5. Percentage distribution of digital literacy status among adults ages 16 to 65, by country: 2012 26
Table A-6. Percentage of workers ages 16 to 65 in each country who use computers at work and who use computers in everyday life: 2012 27
Table B-1. Standard errrors for Table A-1: Percentage distribution of digital literacy status among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by demographic characteristic: 2012 28
Table B-2. Standard errors for Table A-2: Percentage distribution of each demographic characteristic among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by digital literacy status: 2012 29
Table B-3. Standard errors for Table A-3: Percentage distribution of digital literacy status among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by employment characteristic: 2012 30
Table B-4. Standard errors for Table A-4: Percentage distribution of each employment characteristic among U.S. adults ages 16 to 65, by digital literacy status: 2012 31
Table B-5. Standard errors for Table A-5: Percentage distribution of digital literacy status among adults ages 16 to 65, by country: 2012 32
Table B-6. Standard errors for Table A-6: Percentage of workers ages 16 to 65 in each country who use computers at work and who use computers in everyday life: 2012 33