ICTs in Later Life and Post-pandemic Challenges.

The article aims to assess the long post-Covid-19 phase from the point\r\nof view of the relationship between seniors and ICTs, with an Italian focus. During\r\nthe first phase of the pandemic (in some ways the most acute and\r\ndramatic, because of its newness and the uncertainties to be able to face\r\nit) an increase in the overall production and consumption of digital contents\r\nand tools was at large empirically observed. At that stage, interesting\r\nhypotheses were formulated based on the assumption that the pandemic\r\nshould spread the ICTs even among the most resistant categories,\r\nincluding the seniors. Three years after the pandemic outbreak, it is time\r\nto empirically test how reasonable this hypothesis was, how well it is\r\nborne out by the facts, and what general interpretations regarding the effect\r\nof major events and crises on the diffusion of technologies among\r\nseniors can be made. Our thesis is that, in Italy, the effect on current seniors\r\nin terms of diffusion is limited if not null. Instead, the data show that\r\nthe pandemic has strengthened the divide between seniors and younger\r\ngenerations, and consequently supports the interpretation of technologies\r\nas markers for second-level digital divide.