The Relationship Between Digital Divide and Cultural Intelligence among Adolescents in Shiraz

Khajenoori, Bijan; Khezri, Narges

doi:10.22055/qjsd.2026.50050.3093

The Relationship Between Digital Divide and Cultural Intelligence among Adolescents in Shiraz

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Bijan Khajenoori ¹

Narges Khezri ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

² Master's Student in Women's Studies, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

10.22055/qjsd.2026.50050.3093

Abstract

In the current globalized and digital era, digital media play an important role in people's interactions and learning. The present study examined the relationship between the digital divide and cultural intelligence among adolescents in Shiraz. In this regard, the study was conducted using a quantitative survey method with a sample size of 1208 male and female high school students in Shiraz, selected using a multi-stage cluster random sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, and the collected data were measured using Pearson's correlation tests, T-test, and multivariate regression. The findings of the study indicated that cultural intelligence was average, as well as familiarity with the Internet and its space, among 76 percent of the respondents.Also, more than 70 percent of respondents had moderate skills in using the Internet and more than half of respondents had moderate access to the Internet, with high school boys having more access than high school girls. There is a positive and significant correlation of more than 95 percent confidence between familiarities with the Internet, skills in using the Internet and its features, and consumption of some cultural intelligence products, because using the Internet leads to access to extensive global cultural content and online platforms provide communication with people with different cultural backgrounds. Overall, the Internet variables measured in this study explained 18 percent of the changes in cultural intelligence.

Keywords

Digital Divide

Cultural Intelligence

Adolescents

Shiraz City

Subjects