A167. Zhang, C., Rice, R. E., & Wang, L. H. (2024). College students’ literacy, chatgpt activities, educational outcomes and trust from a digital divide perspective. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241301741 Supplemental material:  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/14614448241301741/suppl_file/sj-docx-1-nms-10.1177_14614448241301741.docx 


Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT), the conversational AI released by OpenAI on November 30, 2022, rapidly accrued over 100 million active users within two months after its initial launch (Halaweh, 2023). In the context of college education, a recent survey showed that 30% of U.S. college students had used ChatGPT to complete written assignments; 60% of those reported using it for over 50% of their written assignments (Intelligent, 2023). Some scholars assert that ChatGPT can reduce educational inequality by providing low-cost personalized tutoring services and learning assistance (Baidoo-Anu et al., 2023; Cotton et al., 2023; Kasneci et al., 2023; Sallam et al., 2023). Others are concerned that a digital divide in this domain may emerge (Fui-Hoon Nah et al., 2023; Mhlanga, 2023), as digital innovations often amplify underlying human and institutional forces, reinforcing existing inequalities (Toyama, 2011; Van Dijk, 2020). These inequities may occur in associations of SES with three levels of the digital divide: skills, use, and outcomes (Van Dijk, 2020). Further, trust in ChatGPT may influence these relationships. Applying the digital divide framework, this study explores how central influences of socioeconomic status and digital and AI literacy are associated with engagement in a wide range of reported ChatGPT uses/activities, and in turn related to two important educational outcomes, academic self-efficacy and creativity.

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