Full length article Self-efficacy and anxiety of digital natives in face of compulsory computer-mediated tasks: A study about digital capabilities and limitations Carlo Gabriel Porto Bellini a, * , Miguel Mauricio Isoni Filho b , Pedro J  acome de Moura Junior c , Rita de C  assia de Faria Pereira d a Associate Professor of Information Systems, Graduate School of Management, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Jo~ ao Pessoa, Brazil b Assistant Professor of Management, Center for the Applied Social Sciences, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, S~ ao Paulo, Brazil c Chief Information Officer, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Jo~ ao Pessoa, Brazil d Associate Professor of Marketing, Graduate School of Management, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Jo~ ao Pessoa, Brazil article info Article history: Received 11 June 2015 Accepted 11 January 2016 Available online xxx Keywords: Digital limitations Digital capabilities Digital effectiveness Cognition Anxiety Self-efficacy Digital natives Digital divide ICT use effectiveness abstract Digital limitations (or, conversely, digital capabilities) are a new way to frame the digital divide discourse in three dimensions: access, cognition and behavior. Digital limitations address an individual's barriers to properly access the information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as his/her cognitive disabilities and negative behaviors towards ICT use effectiveness. In a survey with 174 undergraduate students in a traditional state university in underdeveloped Northeastern Brazil who compulsorily use an institutional ICT-based academic system, we investigated the factorial structure and the relationship of two constructs that pertain to the cognitive dimension of digital limitations e computer self-efficacy and anxiety. Our findings address the negative correlation between the two constructs and the unanticipated proposition that both low and high levels of self-efficacy and anxiety do not signal per se the presence of cognitive digital limitations or capabilities. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In underdeveloped and developing countries, public policies are needed to minimize what is known as the digital divide or digital inequality. Since at least 2004, the Brazilian government has been promoting itself as a protagonist of the digital revolution in the country. A myriad of state-funded programs targeting the access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) by the average population was put in place since then. A common aspect to all those digital inclusion programs is their exclusive focus on technology-related issues: an individual's access to hardware, software and the Internet. Countless statements available in central government's websites and other sources in the last decade typify such a myopic perspective: “A connected computer is the government's new bet to fight against the digital divide” (Federal Service for Data Processing e SERPRO, September 2004 1 ) “(…) the federal government instituted, in August 2008, the committee for managing the digital inclusion program (…) the governmental actions are based on four pillars: cheapening the equipments by means of tax cuts and credit; providing public access to the Internet, free services, and training for city officials to supervise the activities; guaranteeing reliable access to the Internet with satisfactory speed for the use of typical application software; building computer laboratories in classrooms at public schools with broadband Internet access and qualified instructors.” (Institute for Applied Economic Research e IPEA, 2009 2 ) * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: carlo.bellini@pq.cnpq.br (C.G.P. Bellini), miguel.filho@ mackenzie.br (M.M. Isoni Filho), pjacome@sti.ufpb.br (P.J. de Moura Junior), rita. pereira@pq.cnpq.br (R.C.F. Pereira). 1 Translated from: http://www4.serpro.gov.br/imprensa/publicacoes/tema-1/ antigas%20temas/tema_175/materias/casa-brasil. 2 Translated from: http://www.ipea.gov.br/desafios/index.php?option¼com_ content&view¼article&id¼1265:reportagens-materias&Itemid¼39. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.015 0747-5632/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Computers in Human Behavior 59 (2016) 49e57