EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIGITAL LITERACY AND CYBERLOAFING LEVELS OF GIFTED STUDENTS

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the levels of cyberloafing and digital literacy that are present among gifted secondary school students and to find the correlation between these two factors. The correlational screening model was used in this study. Participants were 179 secondary school (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade) students enrolled in Science and Art Centers (SAC), who were identified as gifted in one or more fields. The participant information sheet, the Digital Literacy Scale and the Smartphone Cyberloafing Scale were used for the data collection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 22 software. The mean scores were determined in order to gain an understanding of the levels of cyberloafing and digital literacy as shown by gifted students. The Pearson correlation test was used to investigate the association between digital literacy levels and cyberloafing levels of gifted students. The results showed that gifted students have high levels of digital literacy and low levels of cyberloafing. Pearson’s correlation test results reveal that there was no significant relationship between gifted students' digital literacy levels and cyberloafing levels (p>.05, r= -.084). It is recommended to explore the factors influencing the cyberloafing levels of gifted students, as well as to analyze the cyberloafing and digital literacy of gifted students with different and larger samples, backed by qualitative studies in various age groups.