Students' digital skills research

A survey of how 4th and 5th grade students read online finds that girls significantly outperform boys on a test of digital skills such as searching for and communicating information. That's despite the fact that boys seem to engage in more digital activities than girls, and that they have more confidence in their online skills than girls do. The survey also found, in contrast to previous research, that students are doing more of their digital activities in school than out of school. On the other hand, other research has also shown that boys have more confidence in their abilities than girls, in particular when it comes to technology. Boys also reported engaging in online activities more often than girls, both in school and out of school. 
Amy C. Hutchison, Lindsay Woodward, Jamie Colwell. (2016). What Are Preadolescent Readers Doing Online? An Examination of Upper Elementary Students’ Reading, Writing, and Communication in Digital Spaces. Reading Research Quarterly.