Life Satisfaction and Internet Use in Later Life in Italy: The Role of Online Activities and Living Arrangements

Abstract This study aimed to provide new insights into the role of internet use in the life satisfaction of older people in Italy, considering, in detail, the types of their online activities and the potential differences between these activities according to the old people’s genders and living arrangements. The data came from the survey Aspects of Daily Life conducted by the Italian National Institute of Statistics in 2021. The results of the logistic regression models used suggest that some online activities have associations with life satisfaction that vary according to gender and living arrangement. In particular, men living alone seem to benefit from voice and video calls, and men living with others, from messaging. On the other hand, for women living alone, online activities do not seem to be significantly associated with life satisfaction, but for women living with others, voice and video calls seem to be positively related to life satisfaction. Thus, not all online activities can be considered significant tools of empowerment for older adults. Specifically, internet use may have a beneficial effect among older Italians (excluding women living alone) when it is used to maintain or reinforce a real social network that is already present.