<p>In the digital age, an increasing number of high school students are adopting digital methods for learning and daily life. Consequently, their digital literacy has become a critical measure for assessing their adaptability to the information era and their academic achievements. Although previous research has examined aspects such as students’ digital literacy, internet use time, and learning motivation, it has not systematically explored the interconnections between these factors, nor has it distinguished between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Therefore, this study aims to develop a mediation model that examines the structural relationships among internet usage duration, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and digital literacy. The study utilizes survey data from 909 high school students; however, to mitigate endogeneity concerns, propensity score matching (PSM) is used to pair participants, followed by validation through a mediation analysis. The findings suggest that internet use time does not statistically significantly affect intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Moreover, while the overall impact of internet use time on digital literacy is not significant, there is a certain association with the socio-emotional dimension. Intrinsic motivation, however, positively and directly influences both extrinsic motivation and digital literacy, with extrinsic motivation acting as a partial mediator between intrinsic motivation and digital literacy. The novelty of this study lies in its examination of the relationship between internet use time and digital literacy, as well as in its differentiation between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and their mediating roles in this relationship. These findings are significant for understanding the development of students’ learning motivation and digital literacy in the digital age and offer a new perspective for future educational practice and research.</p>