Abstract
Demography is transforming the Italian society: Increasing life expectancy coupled with sustained low fertility has made Italy a country with one the most advanced ageing process in the world (Billari & Tomassini 2021). At the same time, we are witnessing an increasing role of digital technologies and skills in our lives and the development of digital services aimed at older people is of growing interest for business, public administration and society. In an increasingly digitalized society, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is of growing importance for guaranteeing equality of opportunities for ageing well and for social inclusion (Reinsdorf & Rhinesmith 2020). To list just a few key potential uses of ICT for improving older people’s health and wellbeing, ICT can serve to stay in contact with family and friends, especially those living at a distance, to facilitate access to services, information and digital health solutions. ICT can make it easier for older people to live safely and independently, promoting wellness, cognitive training, and early detection of risk factors for different medical conditions. The importance of these factors has become even clearer during the recent pandemic (Arpino et al 2021b; Nguyen et al. 2020). Because of the role of ICT in defining and influencing an active and healthy ageing of the population, as explicitly recognized for example by the Active Ageing Index framework of the UNECE (Zaidi et al. 2013), it is crucial to understand the factors that favor or limit the use ICT among older people. These factors are not only of technological nature, but include socio-demographic characteristics. By adopting a lifecourse approach, the ICTAGE project aims at adding a socio-demographic perspective into the literature on ICT use among older people. In particular, by using advanced quantitative techniques we examine the role of three important sets of socio-demographic determinants of older people’s ICT use: 1) kin availability and family relationships; 2) socio-economic current and past conditions; 3) birth cohort and area of residence. The project focuses on Italy, a country characterized by an advanced ageing process and a strong digital divide that is likely to be heterogeneous across geographical areas, demographic and socio-economic groups. By examining to what extent socio-demographic factors influence ICT adoption by older people, the ICTAGE project will: 1) pave the way for new theoretical developments on the quality of ageing and inequalities in ageing well in an increasingly digitalized society; 2) encourage public discussion on how the digitalization process can be fairer across generations and on its role in an ageing country; 3) provide relevant information for evidence-based policies that may reduce the digital divide, thus exploiting the potential of ICT for improving older people’s wellbeing and social inclusion.
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Marco Albertini
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociali
Coordinatore:
Università degli Studi di FIRENZE(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 64.388,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
18/10/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
