Civic participation does not automatically grow with digital. This is shown by ISTAT data on the 2024 permanent population census: 87.3% of elderly families responded to the questionnaire, compared to 75% of younger ones. A fact that denies the idea of participation driven above all by the new generations.
The difference is not so much in the willingness to participate, but in the channels used. Young people respond mainly online, while older people prefer direct contact with municipalities, through face-to-face or telephone interviews. This is where the paradox emerges: digital should make access to public services easier, but for many elderly people it becomes an obstacle, made up of credentials, passwords and complex steps.
This problem should be resolved by public policies which, as we will see, have produced considerable results in some European countries such as Estonia. Italy still struggles to introduce systemic digital education measures that leave the classroom and embrace the entire population.
Internet access and use among older adults: a structural fracture
The dynamics observed in the Census are confirmed in the data on the use of technologies in daily life collected by the Istat Citizens and ICT 2024 survey. Here the gap does not appear as an isolated episode, but as a structural condition that accompanies advancing age.
In 2024, Internet access is close to saturation for a large part of the Italian population, but not for all. Only 60.6% of families made up exclusively of elderly people have a domestic connection, compared to values close to all in families with at least one minor or a non-elderly member. The first fracture therefore concerns the basic infrastructure, even before the skills.
Even where connectivity is present, actual use of the network declines rapidly with age. 68.1% of people between 65 and 74 years old have used the Internet in the last three months, a share that drops to 31.4% among those over 75. The distance is not only generational, but progressive: each change in age coincides with a significant reduction in the frequency and variety of use.
Digital public services: autonomy remains limited
The gap becomes even more evident when observing the interaction with the digital services of the Public Administration. In 2024, only 13% of people requested certificates or documents online, while less than a quarter used PA sites or apps to download official forms or book appointments. Compared to 2023, these functions are decreasing, after the peak recorded during the pandemic phase.
The use of e-government services remains concentrated in the central age groups and in the Center-North, while among the elderly and in the South, digital interaction with the PA remains sporadic and selective. Even relatively simple operations, such as consulting personal information or accessing public records, involve a minority of older users.
In the transition from the Census to daily life, the picture is recomposed: the digitalisation of services proceeds faster than the diffusion of the skills necessary to use them independently. For a significant part of the elderly population, online access does not coincide with simplification, but with an increase in operational and cognitive complexity.
Digital adult education: what the State does
In this context, public policies struggle to fill the gap. Outside the school perimeter, the coordination of digital literacy falls under the Department for Digital Transformation of the Presidency of the Council, responsible for guiding the modernization of the country, promoting the adoption of digital services and promoting the dissemination of the skills necessary to interact with the PA and the digital economy.
The Digital Republic initiative is placed within this framework, designed to reduce the skills gap and promote conscious use of technologies through a network of public and private entities. One of the main tools is the Digital Republic Fund, established as a partnership between the State and banking foundations to finance training and digital inclusion projects in the area.
However, available resources remain limited. According to the provisions of the Official Journal, approximately 10 million euros are allocated to the Fund, a figure which reduces the possibility of transforming the experiments into structural and continuous policies.
Why the Netherlands leads Europe in digital skills
In the Netherlands, familiarity with digital is not an exception, but a widespread condition. According to the most recent official data, 82.7% of the population has at least basic digital skills, well above the European average (55.6%) and above the target set by the European Union for 2030. It is the sign of a system in which tools and skills reinforce each other.
The OECD highlights how this diffusion is linked to three structural factors: almost universal access to the Internet, extensive use of public and private digital services, and a culture of lifelong learning that keeps skills active even in adulthood. Generational differences remain, but they start from higher average levels than in most European countries.
In the Netherlands, digitalisation does not only concern services, but also widespread and structured support for those who risk being excluded. The national program of Digital Inclusion supports courses and desks in libraries for citizens with digital difficulties, including the elderly, while digital assistance points (such as IDOs) operate daily on practical issues such as digital identity and access to online public services.
This is accompanied by a national help network (DigiHulplijn) and a monitoring and ongoing training system to maintain and disseminate skills. Local networks and voluntary organizations also operate in the area and offer specific courses for senioradapted to different rhythms and needs, showing how digital autonomy is built over time, through training, assistance and constant presence.
