3. Materials and Methods
The study will be developed within the logic of pragmatism, an alternative way to post-positivism and constructivism. It will reinforce pluralism and synergy aiming at a flexible research model. The research followed a mixed research paradigm (quantitative–qualitative). Therefore, this research will present a mixed methodological approach, by enhancing the understanding of the phenomenon under study that addresses a subject related to complex characterizations that involve human beings and our diversity. In this way, it should be noted to the approaches that, from the quantitative point of view, it is possible to access statistical procedures, descriptions, and logical–quantitative arguments.
Meanwhile, from a qualitative point of view, although it does not resort to variables, it admits collecting information whose analysis establishes categories that become complementary and flexible throughout the investigation itself. It allows obtaining results from an interpretive synthetic methodology [
34].
Also, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive design investigations provide a good perception of the functioning of a phenomenon [
35], as well as the general characteristics of the distribution of the problem and how the variables and elements that compose it behave. It allows in the future to generate hypotheses serving planning, that is, decision-making [
36]. The purpose is to describe the sample in the most complete and detailed way possible and thus identify the elements that characterize it, therefore, a hypothesis was not raised and a general objective was taken to work around. It would allow the inclusion of the greatest amount of information for effective description and characterization.
3.1. Participants
This research considered a non-probabilistic or directed sample made up of 509 students (185 men and 324 women) who participated voluntarily.
To determine the size of the sample to be studied, the population of infinite or unknown size was considered and the formula for a proportion was used [
37], obtaining 384 subjects. It was the minimum number allowed for a representative sample of the population. The students were contacted directly by the coordinators of their careers, their teachers, or respective student centers. They received an invitation letter via email.
In addition, the inclusion criteria for this research were: 1. To be 18 years old or older (legal age in Chile), and 2. To pursue a degree in face-to-face mode and during the day shift. The students who participated in the research were distributed within 21 of the 55 existing universities in the country. The geographical distribution of the participating institutions included the northern, central and southern areas of the country.
3.2. Instruments
This is a research study with a mixed methodological approach and the scientific method is made up of three basic characteristics: in the first place, its goal is a generalization and, in the second instance, it is based on a theoretical corpus. It finally wants to seek objectivity [
38], and it is why the procedure design was followed to collect nomothetic data from quantitative studies through a questionnaire.
To properly collect the information, the logical sequence for the process of design was followed, writing and validation of the instruments proposed by Soriano-Rodríguez [
39].
Instruments from previous research were evaluated through the use of the Ebsco Host database and Dialnet Plus. The documentary review and analysis methodology (RAD) were followed, produced by the search, selection, organization, and analysis of primary sources [
40]. After a review of the theoretical corpus and determining that they presented a different twist to the study in question, it was defined that the questionnaire would be the result of the fusion of two instruments.
An instrument made up of two parts was applied; the first one corresponded to a questionnaire developed by the research team, which allowed describing the digital identity of the students. The second corresponded to the CAPPLE questionnaire [
41], which identified and described the PLE displayed by the students.
The “Digital Identity” questionnaire was made up of four dimensions. The first dimension, named “personal data”, addresses a series of contextualizing sociodemographic data.
The second dimension called “knowledge and attitudes towards digital identity” encompasses a set of indicators that give account from the theoretical handling of the basic constructs, linked to digital identity and reputation, as well as their perceptions and preferences regarding these. Meanwhile, the third dimension, “connectivity and use of devices”, is aimed at specifying the technological and technical scenario from which students access the Web.
Finally, the fourth dimension relative to the “definition of digital identity” expressed and manifested by students was taken as the theoretical substrate of the model proposed by Dr. Fanny Georges [
16] on the construction of digital identity, considering the so-called declared identity, created and calculated.
The validation of the semantic and structural construction of the applied instrument was through expert judgment, using the nominal group technique [
42]. This group was made up of 12 doctors belonging to European and Latin American universities, divided into two groups: (a) with publications on digital identity, and (b) with publications on educational technology in general.
All the experts spoke about the clarity, coherence, and relevance of the questions that made up the instrument, rating it from 1 to 4, with 1 means non-compliance with the criterion and 4, the highest level of compliance. Likewise, in front of each question a box was arranged in case, they required issuing a qualitative evaluation.
Based on the individual judgment reports, issued by each expert, a table of recommendations was prepared with the qualitative observations and the frequencies of the scores obtained. As a criterion to discard a question, two requirements should be met jointly:
According to the observations of the panel of experts and the elimination criteria, the questionnaire was affected by the reformulation of the wording of the headings and some questions, while others were merged.
For the psychometric validation of the instrument, the classical Test Theory establishes that Cronbach’s Alpha is an indicator of the internal consistency of the elaborated instruments that include items with a Likert scale and are validated by experts [
43,
44].
For the pilot test, the sample was defined according to the approach of Villarroel del Pino [
45] and it was applied to 384 subjects, a number calculated considering an infinite study population size. The sample was taken at random using an online program to ensure the randomness of the data and the representativeness of the population.
As a result of its application, a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.872 was obtained for the questions associated with the declared digital identity, 0.913 for those associated with the created digital identity, and 0.916 for those associated with the calculated digital identity.
For the second part of the questionnaire, related to PLE, although the instrument on work and learning habits for future professionals—CAPPLE [
41]—was used, it was also subjected to statistical validity; understanding that it was created for a population other than the Chilean context. Semantically, the term “colleague” had to be adjusted, being replaced by “companion” since the population under study does not correspond to a working force. As a result of its application, a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.768 fulfilling what is expected for a descriptive instrument.
3.3. Procedure
The application process of both instruments lasted 3 months (November 2018 to January 2019) and was carried out using the Survey Monkey interview platform in its paid version. Before the participants received the survey, they were sent an informed consent letter. The data were coded and organized in a Microsoft Excel (2016) spreadsheet which was reviewed by independent groups to avoid errors [
46,
47]. Subsequently, the statistical analysis of the data was carried out.
3.4. Data Analysis
The interpretation of the results was through the analysis of the percentage distribution of the response frequencies in each statement. Significant differences were sought, considering groupings by gender, type of funding received by the school where they completed secondary education, and the area of training in which the student is currently studying.
In the grouping by gender, the classic binary concept was considered: man and woman. The grouping according to the type of funding received by the school included three groups: private school (financing by the families or tutors of the students), subsidized school (financing shared between the State and families or tutors of students), and public school (financing provided entirely by the State). Finally, three training areas were established: Health Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering Sciences.
Since the data are ordinal, non-parametric tests were used. In this case, these were the Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon U test (95%; 0.05) to look for differences by gender, and the Kruskal–Wallis test (95%; 0.05) to look for differences by type of school financing and by training area. Non-parametric tests have the advantage that they should not fit any distribution. Therefore, they can be applied even if the parametric validity conditions are not met; that is, the data do not need a normal distribution. Additionally, non-parametric tests are more robust than parametric ones. In other words, they are valid in a broader range of situations since they require fewer conditions of validity, so it adjusts to the needs of this research based on the large amount and diversity of data collected [
45,
48].
In all cases, it was considered that there were significant differences between groups when the calculated p-value was less than or equal to 0.05. All calculations were performed using the Stata Version-14 program in Spanish.
3.5. Ethical Considerations
Before answering the instruments, all participants received an informed consent letter indicating the details of the research and their participation. In this research, the information confidentiality criteria established in the Helsinki declaration and the recommendations made by the ethics committee of the University of the Balearic Islands for its investigations were considered.
5. Discussion
In this section, the main aspects that could be observed in the data presented and their implications within digital identity characterization will be discussed. A division into sections was made to facilitate the process of discussion and critical analysis.
The first aspect to discuss is related to the planes of expression of identity.
Table 1 shows that students feel as free to be in presence as in virtuality, reinforcing the conception that for them the duality of the self is not necessary, since the fundamental thing for individuals is to inhabit a space, coinciding with what is stated by Belli et al. [
49]. This aspect is consistent with the results of
Table 2 on the fact that they do not make a difference between themselves in digital media and presence, being able to infer that the expression of their personality and their life from the available information on the Internet reflects their reality. This idea is consistent with the results obtained in Spanish university students, who state that they do believe that they are themselves on social networks, showing a correspondence between their real self and that of the Web [
12].
So, those who are trained with the presence of the Internet in their lives, would not see the need to create a digital self that differs from their presence, that is, the subjects studied show in digital media what they are actually living. This coincides with the approaches of Çöteli [
50].
Regarding attitudes towards digital identity concerning interactions, it is interesting to see in
Table 3 and
Table 4 that, despite declaring a high use of mobile phones, the preferred method for discussing relevant issues, according to the subject’s criteria is face-to-face communication.
At the communicative level, despite feeling comfortable in both the virtual space and in the presence, and the great development of digital communication media, videoconferences and emails are not a priority choice; although with the multiplicity of functions of cell phones, videoconferences and emails are gaining space and generating dependence [
51,
52].
Regarding the moment in which they intensify their interaction on the Internet, considering that the most used device is the cell phone, whose omnipresence urges to affect the quality of the communication process,
Table 5 shows that Chilean university students selectively choose when to increase their actions.
Phubbing is understood as looking at and using a device to connect to the Internet while interacting with others. Although it is a behavior declared by the students of the sample, the data show that it is an action associated with the degree of intimacy, closeness, or importance assigned to the individual(s) with whom they are interacting. This action explains that when they are with their partners or family, they avoid interacting from their cell phone, unlike when alone, with friends and, even participating in classes. The greater the closeness or intimidation with whom is having a conversation, the less the phubbing intensity.
In the study by Vander-Abeele et al. [
53] it was established that people perceive less intimacy in the conversation when the couple used the cell phone and that in 30% of the conversations where people did use the telephone, they included their interlocutor in the interaction through the action of sharing the screen.
This perception leads to thinking that this new generation has begun to see the non-use of telephones as a way of expressing to others the importance that they represent for them and, in the case of using their devices, using them as a means of interaction more than a form of isolation. That is to say, it could be considered in this new generation that belittlement is a form of violence by considering the rest of individuals not important or that they deserve full attention, rather than the result of an addiction.
This possible paradigm shift should make us rethink the level of trust regarding the information that was found from young people on the digital plane by manifesting this online–offline hybridization. In fact, Soomro et al. [
54] in their study address the need that individuals present to be always connected, as a constant in university students, coinciding with the research of Hernández-Orellana et al. [
55] whose sample does not make differences between their face-to-face self and their digital self. Neither is influence on the choice of type or connection time, and preferred device according to the training area. However, there is evidence in their concept of digital reputation and its management. Additionally, Oviedo-Trespalacios et al. [
56] point out that such constant communication in digital media is given thanks to the omnipresence that mobile phones deliver
The second aspect to discuss leads to the characterization of digital identity (
Table 6,
Table 7,
Table 8,
Table 9,
Table 10,
Table 11 and
Table 12). Regarding the first dimension that is activated when entering the digital sphere, giving life to an individual on the Web with their statement, high veracity of the information provided by Chilean university students is displayed, being easily identifiable on the Web (
Table 6), which is consistent for the high correspondence which they make explicit between their self in networks and the real person (
Table 2).
Although the identity authentication data delivery was considered personal or private information, the study reveals a substantial change and invites us to a more careful reflection regarding the public and private sphere. In this matter, the work carried out by Holicza et al. [
57] concluded that people who have grown up with the Internet are more likely to share personal and confidential information online. This fact is consistent with the findings of this study where both men and women declared to authenticate with their real name, gender (male, female), sexual orientation, marital status, and date of birth regularly in digital media.
A possible explanation for this high preference to present and register on the Internet with real data is related to the argument that, just as online and offline lose meaning, the same would happen with public and private, generating a hybridization of the public/private [
58], in which the social is privatized and the private is socialized [
59]. This argument leads to the fact that Web 2.0, together with all the variants that it can take, allow breaking the border between the private and the public, giving life to the Spanish concept “éxtimo”. This term combines the words intimate and exposed, showing the paradox of exposing people’s privacy in the global showcases of the Internet [
60].
Another possible explanation would be the technological advance, which allows geolocation and mobility in the network (mobile phones). University students have been compelled or, better said, invited to an omnipresence [
13,
16]. Now, to achieve this omnipresence, being truthful becomes very important since it facilitates their participation in multiple spaces.
Regarding the delivery of first-level classified information (
Table 6), it is appreciated that women prefer using their full real name and share photos where they are identifiable, unlike men, so our research agrees with the study by Huang et al. [
61] and Shepherd [
62]. In short, men and women build their digital identity differently, pointing out that women, although they share more information and are more inclined to show themselves on social networks, are mostly concerned with configuring the privacy of their sites, by thinking that it may affect them, personally and professionally in the future.
The identity construction differentiated by gender, which is visualized in this research, is consistent with the study carried out by Qotb [
30].
This also responds to the new social movements such as #Viajosola in 2015 and #NiUnaMenos in 2017. Women saw that being identifiable and traceable can be a useful tool for protection and support in a world that is often dangerous for them, enhancing their identity and ideological position of equality before society. In this scenario, the Network has become a safety zone and positive reinforcement for women [
63,
64,
65,
66].
According to what is stated regarding the identity construction differentiated by gender, it can be inferred that certain stereotypical this study indicates that in the construction of professional digital identity, the deployment of linguistic techno-discursive processes linked to a conversation is as important in networks as personal visual linguistic processes. Both processes favor the social identity of the professional, which is reinforced by what is stated in the responses of the women participating in the sample gender behaviors are maintained in digital media that reproduce or extend the social dynamics of the presential space [
67]. Thus, in the case of men in the study, the use of nicknames or aliases and avatars is a common behavior among them, so if in the face-to-face world they are recognized with a certain nickname (alias), they usually lead that alias to digital media, especially, if they participate in online video games where their use is a requirement. Our study coincides with the trend manifested by Malaysian youth [
68], who used an avatar and aliases to represent themselves; typical behavior of the world of online videogames [
69].
It is interesting to note that stereotyped behaviors impact the social connection in such a way that they become so toxic for female gamers that they are forced, out of fear, to mask their gender [
70]. The fact that women express a greater preference for being accompanied could be another stereotype associated with female profiles, which would be interesting to study, to determine if it is only associated with wanting to be sociable and popular or doing so for safety due to male harassment flax [
71].
The use of animal photographs as a representation of the personal profile was the least used option, where no differences were found by gender, although men presented a slightly higher use. This probably has the same origins as that of an avatar, since certain networks or groups, such as environmental groups or animal lovers, showing photos of pets is a valid form of identification.
Regarding the created and calculated digital identities, it will be analyzed as a whole, since they are directly related and random, it is not necessary to divide digital identities because the identity is one and is not dissociated and is in these dimensions where it is highly perceived. Given that in this sphere there is a significant difference between how women and men express themselves, it is again suggested that stereotyped behaviors in the face-to-face environment are extensive to the digital level (
Table 7,
Table 8,
Table 9,
Table 10,
Table 11 and
Table 12).
It is seen that women have a greater tendency to update their profile image. They only accept friendships from well-known people, so they tend to tag their friends in their publications and to like, without commenting mostly, everything that calls their attention without a specific thematic line (
Table 7 and
Table 12). However, they take care of the visibility of what they publish so that they have greater clarity of who sees their publications. They also show a greater motivation to participate to the extent that they know the impact of their activity, expressed with special attention by the number of photographs published by them (
Table 7,
Table 8 and
Table 9). Self-care and visibility protection behaviors coincide with the non-declaration of their geolocated location (
Table 6), their political tendency, opinions about politics, or their religious beliefs (
Table 11). Moreover, women state that they have a high use of social networks and Web tools, WhatsApp and Instagram being the greater inclination media for daily use (
Table 10).
Women’s preferences and behaviors are explained because the use of social networks is associated with the fact that these sites allow finding social support and reconnection with real friends and face-to-face social networks [
72], valuing the correspondence between the published images and their veracity [
73]. Therefore, this research coincides with the studies carried out and shows that it is chosen to publish in a protected medium and where personal purposes are not freely exposed to public opinion [
74]. This conception is also extended to the fact that they inform their marital status, gender (male, female), and age more explicitly, in contrast to their sexual orientation.
For their part, men are less likely to update their profile image but tend to accept friend requests from strangers and friends of friends. In contrast, they rarely tag friends or acquaintances on the Web or social networks (
Table 7). They declare a high frequency of giving “likes” by sharing and commenting—without a specific thematic line—everything that is of interest to them, unlike women who only “like” and share without commenting. Men also show less interest in knowing the impact of the publication of their photographs, as well as the number of their followers.
However, men do pay more attention to the knowledge of the metrics of their publications, this is a factor that motivates their participation (
Table 7,
Table 8,
Table 9 and
Table 12); although this means declaring its geolocated location (
Table 6) and disseminating its information, status and images publicly [
12]. These results are consistent with the Israeli study on attitudes towards online privacy and anonymity, visualizing a digital separation between men and women regarding the protection of their digital identity, evidencing a lower level of self-efficacy in this sphere in men, despite the higher level of technological literacy they have compared to women [
75].
Regarding the belief system, men, although they tend to declare their political tendency and religious conviction, are not as likely, to make their age, gender, and marital status explicit on websites and networks, as women (
Table 11). These results are explained because men see participation in social networks as an instance that allows them to enhance their social capital, so they tend to have more friends, show achievements, and not worry so much about publishing photos with a recognizable face or managing their privacy [
76], which makes their digital identity much more susceptible to being affected.
Regarding the use of social networks and Web tools, men, although they use WhatsApp and Instagram daily, just as women, show a lower degree of activity frequency. There is just a difference regarding Youtube since it is indicated to be men’s preferred participation channel.
Finally, from the perspective of the PLE configuration (last aspect to be discussed), it can be deduced from the data collected in
Table 13 that to manage the information Chilean university students prefer to organize it hierarchically in folders, following an analog logic. This organization implies that to decode it, they download it, print it on paper, underline and take notes on paper, which are then transferred to a text document and saved on their PCs.
If the information comes from a video or audio of their interest, students frequently state that questions or doubts will arise and they will try to relate this information to what they already know, keeping the option of taking notes on paper [
19].
To create information, the university students make explicit that they publish the information on the social network that they frequently use (
Table 13), which would be focused on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, or Spotify (
Table 10). It is interesting to note that 33.79% of the student’s state that they do not know how to share information and more than 50% state that they do not use tools or a specific tool according to the type of information, so the procedure will always be the same to create it.
Despite how they organize and decode the information (
Table 13), it is most likely that their creations are mainly iconic productions linked to photographs or images for social networks and, to a lesser extent, videos for YouTube, which is the most visited website by young people according to what they declare (
Table 10). Texts, although they are a product that requires less complex digital skills, are relegated to third place.
Regarding the management of the learning process linked to critical thinking (
Table 14), the sample declares that the factors that add credibility to the information they receive are: (1) expert recommendations, (2) articles, books, or videos appearing in various resources on the Internet, and (3) colleagues, friends and family as a reliable source to consider valid information. The bibliographic managers who recommend information lack the attention of Chilean university students.
The most used medium to solve technical problems related to the learning process will be YouTube since they will see tutorials on the Internet (
Table 10 and
Table 14). Secondly, they will contact colleagues or friends by mail or private messages and, thirdly, they will consult the media on the network (
Table 14).
To clarify doubts while developing a job, they will turn to their colleagues and friends with high frequency, first in-person and, secondly, by contacting them by email or private messages through WhatsApp or social networks such as Instagram or Facebook. Again, the third option to consult doubts will be YouTube to see tutorials (
Table 10 and
Table 14).
When relating the information in
Table 13 and
Table 14 with the information in
Table 7,
Table 8,
Table 9,
Table 10,
Table 11 and
Table 12, it is evident that the types of PLE displayed and manifested by Chilean university students, as well as the construction of their DI, reflect basic digital skills with a reduced repertoire of technological tools.
Young university students interact, given their precarious digital skills, in an unfavorable scenario in terms of producing valuable or complex content that implies a more elaborate digital treatment through web applications, which limits their participation in the network.
In this way, we find ourselves in front of lurkers, participants in the network who read and observe without making their own retribution, and posters, subjects that share information online beyond the “like” and a minimum comment but do not reach the level of a prosumer who produces and distributes, providing new information [
24] and building a favorable digital identity and reputation.
This research coincides with the findings of the study carried out with Turkish students, where their PLEs were useful environments in easy access to content and interaction with other users, allowing learning. However, these students were not focused on managing or building more learning, becoming passive actors [
20], and adjusting the study population to observers rather than to publishers and prosumers.
Therefore, it can be corroborated that production is closely related to the degree of awareness of the activity displayed and manifested by the user [
5]. That is, Chilean university students show low awareness of social activity where the metrics, the number of people who will attend events or accept invitations to groups created by them is low, their production is likewise low and linked to basic digital skills, focusing on iconic productions (photographs and videos) and, to a lesser extent, text. Hence, some digital contents of the multimedia and hypermedia type are more frequent in those individuals who are highly aware of their activity and do not exceed 20% of the population under study. This result is linked to the fact that this type of information production requires both the management of digital tools and the deployment of higher-order thinking tasks. It implies that students process the information learned and can design, formulate, and create new information [
77].
According to the findings in this research, it is possible to rethink the users and future professionals who are graduating and who will soon be inserted into the professional world, whose media literacy skills necessary to produce digital artifacts are precarious [
17]. However, it also urges that we understand the phenomena of digital technologies from the individual and society since the opportunities and/or inequalities will be given by the capacity that people have as users to adapt to a society of accelerated changes, in which the media and digital culture are diversified and acquire a predominant role. So, each selfie, like, live broadcast, post, or other shared production on the Web will contribute to the construction of the global identity of cyberspace and, therefore, to the digital identity of each user [
5,
49,
77].
The implications of this research from an academic point of view have allowed: (1) to carry out the integration of the literature regarding DI and PLE; (2) contrast the results with the Latin American, European and Asian realities; (3) to provide, from a theoretical and empirical point of view, a comprehensive look at the construction of DI and PLE and how they are interdependent, affecting each other.
The novelty of this research aims to show, from a comprehensive perspective, how web 2.0 tools affect not only the university students’ social and academic field but also in the construction of their DI. When only the construction of the DI is analyzed, differences by gender are evident, but when the analysis is extended to academics, these differences disappear, which marks a change concerning the studies published so far, where a gap in skills is declared between men and women, a situation that did not occur in this case. The crossing of information carried out in this research marks a new vision of the study in digital competencies and, especially, in managing the DI of individuals and its incidence in their professional training process from a new perspective where there is no gap between men and women.
6. Conclusions
The displayed and manifest digital identity of Chilean university students is characterized by being highly transparent in terms of the delivery of personal information without making differences between face-to-face and virtual identity with a unique “I”.
These Chilean university students manifest a low awareness of their digital identity linked to their “fingerprints” like other young people in Latin America and Europe. Although, they are characterized by being aware of the frequency of publication in the five networks/tools that they commonly use in their daily lives, showing a high awareness of activity relative to their calculated DI, they do not manage their created DI, neglecting visibility of their activities and availability of their personal data, making them easily identifiable and vulnerable on the Internet. From the educational aspect, they manage the information and the learning process according to an analog/face-to-face logic that, together with their low awareness of activity and digital competencies, implies a lower production of content, placing them rather as observers.
Finally, Chilean university students show a hybrid academic digital identity that combines the face-to-face-digital, public–private, formal–informal spheres, blurring the planes of action between them, but maintaining the stereotypical behaviors of gender. This could lead us to think that generation Z, to which young Chilean university students belong, is in an educational context where technologies 3.0 and 4.0 are the constant, allowing the existence of e-Learning and m-Learning training processes. However, the pandemic that began in 2019 showed that Chilean and Latin American teachers, in general, do not have the necessary digital skills and competencies to carry out teaching and learning processes in digital environments [
78,
79,
80].
Chile, like other Latin American countries, is just laying the necessary foundations to move from e-learning 2.0 to d-Learning or digital learning. Due to this, during the pandemic, instead of talking about an e-Learning training process, the academic community preferred to talk about remote education or emergency remote education supported with technology. At this point, it could be affirmed that there is a digital divide that distances Latin American countries from the educational process with technology experienced by young North American, Asian, and European university students, whom this new generation of Latin American professionals will compete against at some point, within the globalized labor market.
To achieve an effective transition in digital skills, it is necessary to consider both the characteristics of digital identity and the shortcomings in the use of digital tools, to help students develop a digital identity more in line with the labor market global to which they must face. Likewise, as teachers, it is necessary that we re-signify the learning spaces, taking a look at what the student actually uses in their day-to-day life. Without limiting ourselves to one-dimensional areas: face-to-face vs. digital; public vs. private and formal vs. informal and re-considering the way we how digital tools are integrated and thought; opening ourselves to create new learning opportunities.
Also, some limitations of this research must be mentioned such as the fact that it was a cross-sectional study and the sample was intentional per volunteer subject and not at random, which implies that the results obtained are limited to the sample studied and describe their behavior in a given moment. Furthermore, it was impossible to achieve gender parity, so the number of women was greater than the number of men. Despite these limitations, the sample used can be considered as large, which improves its ability to represent reality [
37,
81], allowing these results to be considered as an approximation to those that could be obtained in a random sample study with gender parity coverage.
From a practical point of view, the conclusions of this research provide Higher Education Institutions with evidence that allows progress towards a comprehensive, solid, and coherent training with the digital skills required by a university professional who graduates in a highly digitized world, demystifying the idea that our university students, being digital natives, are skilled and handle a wide range of technological tools.
Given the above, it would be advisable to advance in future studies that consider knowing the protection measures that university students know and apply to protect their data and manage their digital identity or whether the PLEs and the way of constructing the digital identity Post-pandemic varied.