Work, Digital Devices and Later Life: A Quanti-qualitative Research

This article presents the results of a qualitative-quantitative research on the relationship between work background and digital media use among the elderly. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between gender, employment status and professional level, and the technological endowments, skills, use and appropriation processes of ICT by the elderly. A sample of 900 Italians between 65 and 74 years old was used for quantitative analysis, together with 20 in-depth interviews. The research was conducted between December 2013 and April 2014. From the results it emerges that gender, working condition and professional level differently influence technological endowment, frequency of use of Internet and PC and Social Networks, while gender, income and educational qualification determine IT competence. This evidence was further corroborated and enriched by the ethnographic investigation.