Paper–Digital Trade-Offs: Preliminary Insights from a Framing Experiment with Italian Adolescents

This study examines Italian adolescents’ willingness to use electronic devices rather than printed paper for reading and writing activities, a behavioural choice that differs from more conventional pro-environmental actions due to its implications for learning and well-being. We design an online vignette experiment with two informational conditions: an individual-impact and a social-impact treatment. Socially framed information is associated with a higher propensity to prefer digital tools relative to individual framing, although overall treatment effects are modest. Stronger treatment responsiveness emerges only when students reflect on avoidable printing practices. Preferences are primarily shaped by socio-demographic factors, particularly gender, educational background, and health and environmental attitudes. Paper is valued for its perceived benefits to reasoning, memory, and reading enjoyment, while digital tools are favoured for their ease of writing and editing. Even if not fully generalizable, our findings highlight the atypical nature of a paper–digital trade-off: when consumption choices involve cognitive or identity-related considerations, sustainability-based messages alone may be insufficient.