The ubiquitous presence of digital devices has cemented the 'Digital Native' paradigm, assuming inherent technological proficiency among contemporary youth. This multicenter study ($N=243$ European secondary students) challenges this narrative by investigating the gap between self-perceived digital literacy and actual technical readiness, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) interaction. Our findings reveal a severe Confidence-Competence Divide characterized by a collective Dunning-Kruger effect: students report near-maximum self-efficacy in passive digital consumption but exhibit a sharp decline when evaluating active technological creation and algorithmic logic. Crucially, an intra-pathway analysis demonstrates that the technological gender gap is not universal; rather, it emerges significantly exclusively within Technology-oriented classrooms ($p = 0.046$), indicating the persistence of 'stereotype threat' in formal STEM environments. Additionally, the study uncovers an 'AI Paradox' wherein students significantly overestimate their critical awareness of deepfakes and algorithmic biases compared to their operational AI skills, fostering a false sense of invulnerability against modern misinformation. Ultimately, supported by an overwhelming student demand ($76.5\%$) for pedagogical reform, this research concludes that dismantling this illusion of competence requires abandoning passive theoretical instruction in favor of hands-on, active technological creation.

翻译：数字设备的无处不在强化了“数字原住民”范式，假定当代青少年天生具备技术熟练度。这项多中心研究（$N=243$名欧洲中学生）通过考察自我感知数字素养与实际技术准备度（包括人工智能互动）之间的差距，对这一叙事提出了质疑。我们的发现揭示了一种严重的“自信-能力鸿沟”，表现为集体性的邓宁-克鲁格效应：学生在被动数字消费方面报告接近最高的自我效能感，但在评估主动技术创造和算法逻辑时却表现出急剧下降。关键在于，路径内分析表明，技术性别差距并非普遍存在；相反，它仅在以技术为导向的课堂中显著出现（$p = 0.046$），这表明在正式的STEM环境中存在“刻板印象威胁”的持续影响。此外，该研究揭示了一个“AI悖论”：学生对其在深度伪造和算法偏见方面的批判意识的评估显著高于其实际AI操作技能，从而产生了一种对现代错误信息的虚假无敌感。最终，在压倒性的学生改革需求（$76.5\%$）支持下，本研究得出结论：打破这种能力幻象需要我们摒弃被动的理论教学，转向动手式的主动技术创造。