The moderating effect of gender on the relationship between digital intelligence and digital amnesia

Digital amnesia refers to the phenomenon where people tend to forget information that they store digitally, and relying heavily on digital devices to remember the information. The ease of access to digital devices may encourage digital dependence, which could lead to digital amnesia. This study provides a preliminary understanding of the association between digital intelligence and digital amnesia among college students and the moderating role of gender in the relationship. This cross-sectional study has employed a stratified random sampling technique to recruit 1265 students via the survey method. The results revealed a significant negative association between digital amnesia and digital intelligence. Findings also indicated that males reported having higher level of digital amnesia, and females reported higher level of digital intelligence. Furthermore, gender played a significant moderator role between digital amnesia and digital intelligence. Overall, this study has provided a novel finding of the moderating role of gender in relationship between digital amnesia and digital intelligence in the Indian context. Furthermore, the scores of digital amnesia in this study raise a concern over the effectiveness of current sex education in India. The scores may underscore the need for educational initiatives that address the adverse effects of digital amnesia and emphasize the importance of promoting digital intelligence.