Digital, Smart and Robotic Ageism and the Bullying of Older Women

Research on the relationship between older adults and digital, intelligent and robotic technologies has so far overlooked the gender dimension, an unjustifiable omission considering that 60% of individuals over the age of 75 are women. It is therefore essential to acknowledge the predominance of women within the older population when analyzing its interactions with digital, robotic or intelligent devices. In 2023, a study was conducted at the University of Udine to investigate the attitudes of older Italian women towards these technologies. The findings indicate that they experience a dual form of dissonance: firstly, they encounter the general dissonance common to all older adults toward such devices, which can be attributed to historical, cultural, socio-economic and generational factors; secondly, they suffer from a gender-specific dissonance, as these technologies have predominantly been designed for male users by hyper-masculine communities. The intersection of these two forms of dissonance exacerbates older women’s relationship with the digital world itself and deepens the existing digital divide between them and their male peers.