Beyond the digital divide: Analyzing the influence of digital media literacy on political participation among Gen Z and Millennials

Digital media literacy is crucial in understanding how people interact with political information and engage in digital spaces. Since Gen Z and Millennials use their digital skills in different ways, their relationship with online political engagement patterns also differ between these cohort. The current paper analyzed the influence of digital media literacy on online political participation of Gen Z and Millennials. Based on the idea of cognitive perspectives of digital literacy and digital inequality research, the paper considered technical competence, source identification, assessment of online data and critical evaluation skills as relevant factors for studying the influence on political participation. This paper adopted quantitative research design to analyze the influence of digital media literacy on online political participation of Gen Z and Millennials. A survey approach was used and survey questionnaire was distributed among students and staff of NUML Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A total of 191 respondents participated in the study, out of which 90 were Millennial, while 101 were Gen Z. Using hierarchal regression, the influence of digital media literacy on online political participation of both generations was investigated and results indicated a positive relationship between DML and online political participation across both cohorts. However, DML had a strong influence on political participation of Millennials more than Gen Z. Millennials strong critical evaluation skills and reflective awareness make them more capable of engaging in meaningful political activities on social media. These findings highlight why it is important to study DML and its relationship with online political participation.