The purpose of the study was to trace Finnish primary school students’ (n=296; grades 5th-7th) socio-digital activities ranging from ordinary to more advanced practices across informal and formal contexts. Many of their teachers were involved in digital innovation activities and therefore enacted sophisticated socio-digital practices in their classrooms. We examined young people’s socio-digital learning ecology, the intensity and complexity of socio-digital participation (SDP) and the digital skills associated with technologies preferred by both girls (n=136) and boys (n=160). By relying on the Genres of Participation, we distinguished students’ friendship-driven and interest-driven practices and identified six informal and three formal dimensions of SDP that constituted their learning ecology. Based on the intensity of dimensions, three socio-digital participation profiles were uncovered: hanging out (n=131), messing around (n=116) and geeking out participators (n=49). Students’ digital skills were conceptualized as academic, artistic and technical socio-digital competences. In average, the students of the present sample participated more frequently in messing around and geeking out activities in school compared to corresponding informal practices, if the recreational gaming is opted out. Regarding the participation profiles, there were no differences between girls and boys while with respect to self-reported socio-digital skills; girls saw themselves as more competent with artistic and boys with technical aspects of digital technologies. The results suggest that innovative teachers can promote a more equal socio-digital participation and build of young people’s 21st century skills through digital-pedagogical practices that are attractive both for girls and boys.
