Piermarco Aroldi, Simone Carlo, Fausto Colombo, A generation in between? Young elderly and their use of ICTs, MeCCSA Conference 2015 – Newcastle (January 7-9)

1. A generation in between?
Young elderly and their use of ICTs
Piermarco AROLDI, Simone CARLO, Fausto COLOMBO
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
simone.carlo@unicatt.it

2. Introduction

3. Introduction
“I Don’t Want to Be Inactive” – A Longer Life: a Generational
Challenge and an Opportunity for Society (2012-2015)
https://anzianiinrete.wordpress.com/

4. Introduction
The use of ICTs during the so-called Third Age (Rossi et all, 2014)
What can be learned by the use of ICTs in the current active elders
or young elderly as regard as:
a) the specific status of the Third Age and the role played by the
media?
b) the variables distinguishing diverse uses of the ICTs among the
elderly?

5. Introduction
The research project presented, lasting 1 year, is based on
(1) an in-depth theoretical study about ageing
(2) a survey with Italian “young elderlies” (65-74 years) about ICTs
(N=900)
(3) 20 family interviews in Milan area.

6. The context: The Third Age, Its Population and the
Role of Media

7. The Third Age, Its Population and
the Role of Media
The “young elderly” (those aged between 65 and 74 years old):
- Stage of life: third age as a result of a gradual lengthening of life
expectancy, which is characterized by a significant demographic
and social weight
Distribution
of wealth in
Italian
families,
considering
age of Head
of Household
(val %).
Source:
Censis 2013

8. The Third Age, Its Population and
the Role of Media
The “young elderly” (those aged between 65 and 74 years old):
- A baby boomers generation (Bertaux, Thompson, 2005):
a) They were born in the same period of time (1940-1949) and spent their
formative years in similar contexts;
b) They have the same age and are nowadays in the same stage of life (e.g:
most of them are retiring);
c) They are an “active generation”
d) They are a “media” generation and partly digitized

9. The Use of the ICTs among the Italian young elderly

10. The Italian Elderly Users in the
European Context
Diffusion of ICTs among the elderly in Europe is still limited
Percentage of individuals that never use the Internet by age group. Sources: Eurostat

11. The Italian Elderly Users in the
European Context
Italy is still significantly below the European average
Individuals who are regular Internet users (at least once a week). Individual, 65 to 74 years
old. Source: European Commission

12. The survey
Laptop computer or netbook according to age group and gender
(% within these categories)
Age group Gender
Total
65-69
years
70-74
years Male Female
Laptop
computer
or
netbook
owned and used
% within
24,0% 10,2% 22,6% 13,3% 17,5%
owned and not used
% within
4,0% 2,4% 4,6% 2,1% 3,2%
not owned but used
% within
,6% ,5% 1,0% ,2% ,6%
not owned and not used
% within
71,4% 87,0% 71,9% 84,4% 78,7%
Total
% within 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0%
Total: all the Italian elderly aged 65-74 years old

13. The survey
At what age do you start to use computer? (% within these categories)
Age group Gender
Total
65-69
years
70-74
years Male Female
At what
age do
you start
to use
computer
?
Before 50 y/o
% within
49,7% 30,9% 47,6% 37,2% 43,6%
Between 50 and 59 y/o
% within
24,8% 34,6% 26,5% 30,9% 28,1%
Between 60 to 64 y/o
% within
18,6% 19,8% 19,0% 19,1% 19,0%
After 64 y/o
% within
6,8% 14,8% 6,8% 12,8% 9,1%
Total
% within 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0%
Total: Italian elderly aged 65-74
years old accessing the Internet

14. The survey
- Home is the best place for Internet access:
- 98.8% of domestic connections
- 15.3% of connections at work
- 5,5% of mobility
- The elderly mostly access the Internet by themselves
- with the partner (19.2%),
- with their children (17.6%),
- with their grandchildren (4.7%).
- 49.8% have learned to use the computer at work:
- males (57.8 %) vs females (37.6 %):
Total: Italian elderly aged 65-74 years old accessing the Internet

15. The survey
Age group Gender
Total65-69
years
70-74
years
Male Female
Frequency of
Internet use
during the week
Sometime a year
%
within
1,3% 4,1% 2,1% 3,4% 2,6%
At least once a month
%
within
5,1% 12,2% 4,9% 11,2% 7,4%
At least once a week
%
within
17,9% 20,3% 18,3% 19,1% 18,6%
Almost every day
%
within
75,6% 63,5% 74,6% 66,3% 71,4%
Total
%
within
100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0%
Total: Italian elderly aged 65-74 years old accessing the Internet

16. 2. The ethnography

17. Domestication of Digital Media
• Three major paths of domestication:
- The Digital Experienced Elderly
- New Digital Elderly in a new Digital Home
- New Digital Elderly in an Old Digital Home

18. Domestication of Digital Media
1) The Digital Experienced Elderly
– word processing, data entry, Office suite, accounting and management software.
– since the early ‘90s, these elderly decided to have at home these tools which they
(partially) learned how to use at work
– the use of computer was a largely established and domesticated in the family history. PCs
became available to the whole family
– at this early stage, the parents taught to their children the computer and the Internet
basics, particularly because of educational needs of their children
– PC was placed in the children rooms, although access was shared and familiar, but in any
case negotiated with the children
 The sudden availability of time and of a free room and computer (because of their children
leaving the house) completely changed their approach to the computer.

19. Domestication of Digital Media
2) New Digital Elderly in a new Digital Home:
– They are housewives, workers, retirees from the late ‘80s, mid-90s, and they have never
had the need to use the computer for their work.
– They are also without children, or with children who have not had the need or the
opportunity in the past to own a computer.
– They have bought (or have been given) a computer only in recent times and if not very
recent, when the children were already out from home: the reasons to buy the PC are
often linked to a general curiosity
 many of these individuals are still learning how to use PC and the Internet, and in some
cases with some difficulties: they show that they are constantly looking for help and
assistance outside the family coming from friends, neighbors, children’s friends, service
centers, shop assistants

20. Domestication of Digital Media
3) New Digital Elderly in an Old Digital Home:
– These elderly have approached the ICTs only in recent times despite having computers and
laptops of children or partner at home.
– This approach does not take place completely independently, but it affects the family:
these elderly are helped by their already digitized relatives (children and partly by the
partner and grandchildren)
– Unlike the previous users, for these users the family network, the processes of
intergenerational learning are essential to take full advantage of the digital.
 The presence of a second-hand (given by the children) computer at home, the aid of the
children are all key elements favoring the entry of such individuals in the digital world.

21. Places of the ICTs
1) The first type of family, having a PC at home from several years, has left the computer in the
same location, the children’s room, transforming it (more or less radically) in a study area
"It was my son's
room, there are still
his books and CDs,
and here he had his
computer (F, 74,
GC)“.

22. Places of the ICTs
1) This room is used primarily by one of the partners (usually the more digitized, who has more
control and availability of the computer) and not equally by both of them: increasing isolation
and separation
"It 'became my
studio, I put myself
here quiet, nobody
bothers me, I have
my computer, my
printer."
(M, 69, GC)”.

23. Places of the ICTs
2) The families and the elderly who have only recently introduced the computers in the household
or do not have a room to be assigned to PCs, have adapted the space of the house to make room
for the computer.
"I put on the kitchen
table, pull it out of
the bag, and the
mouse is ready"
(M, 72, GC)

24. Places of the ICTs
2) In some cases, the arrangement of the workstation is a daily routine.
"Cleared the table,
leave under another
tablecloth so do not
ruin the table and I
put the computer (F,
72, PC)

25. Methods of Use
 Time saving:
A strongly focused use aimed at doing something specific, at carrying on a task and at
saving time for a task which would have required more efforts (one above all: home
banking).
 Time spending:
Used without any specific purpose and often at the same time (after waking up in the
morning, after lunch, before dinner, before going to bed, etc).
 Our interviewees have mainly a hybrid use. The sum of these two behaviors
involves, in terms of time, a very intense use of the computer and the Internet by the
respondents.
 The extended and excessive use of the Internet is in some cases regarded as an
issue concerning family life

26. 4. Conclusions: a generation in between

27. A generation in between
• Trend of progressive digitalization of the “new older
generation”
• The digitized elderly use technologies in a very “mature” way,
incorporating them into their needs and lifestyles.
• The specific status of the Third Age in relation to the role
played by the media: their status do not depend primarly on
their age, but more on their specific experience of life
• What are the significant variables that distinguish the different
uses of ICTs within people living the Third Age?
- demographic variables (gender)
- social capital
- biographies of use of the ICTs

28. A generation in between
• Young elderly and ICTs addomestication, a generation in
between:
- Generational characteristics (of today Italian Third Age):
- relative youngness
- «active» elderly
- good health
- good wealth
- Domestic/family contexts and intergenerational relationship

29. A generation in between?
Young elderly and their use of ICTs
Piermarco AROLDI, Fausto COLOMBO, Simone CARLO
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
simone.carlo@unicatt.it