From the Myth of Digital Natives to Digital Efficiency: Human Digital Gravity Theory (HDGT)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23882/ijdam.26302Keywords:
Gravité numérique humaine (HDGT), Efficience numérique (SEN-HDGT), Économie de l’attention, Autonomie décisionnelle, Bien-être numérique.Abstract
This article advances a key theoretical shift by conceptualizing digital communication not as a set of technical tools but as a structuring environment shaped by platform logics (notifications, algorithmic curation, connectivity imperatives) that can constrain attention, autonomy, and bio-social balances. Challenging the “digital natives” narrative, it argues that competence does not follow automatically from age or exposure intensity; rather, it emerges from differentiated socialization and socio-cognitive capacities for regulation. Drawing on a theory-building qualitative design (n = 152) that combines semi-structured interviews with a structured profiling instrument (TPN-25), the study formalizes the Human Digital Gravity Theory (HDGT). In this framework, digital exposure functions as a gravitational “mass,” whereas individual outcomes depend on a central moderating variable-digital efficiency-defined as the capacity to resist, regulate, and purposefully govern digital demands. Five robust dimensions underpin digital efficiency: (1) temporal regulation (breaks, disconnection, rhythms), (2) critical reflexivity regarding economic and algorithmic mechanisms, (3) decisional autonomy (choice, refusal, prioritization), (4) digital-biological balance (sleep, deep attention, offline relations), and (5) purpose and meaning (alignment with life goals and values). By linking exposure and efficiency, the model identifies graduated trajectory zones (1-2 gravitational fall, 3 unstable equilibrium, 4-5 mastery), offering a non-pathologizing grammar for vulnerability and progression. The article further proposes an operational tool-the SEN-HDGT-as a composite indicator system enabling placement on a 1→5 scale and supporting practical implications for education, organizational governance (availability norms, attention sobriety), and public policy aimed at strengthening cognitive sovereignty and digital well-being.
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