Settegiorni Parlamento's report on the digital skills of older people
‘Do you remember your SPID password?’
‘No, I don't have one.’
‘And do you use your electronic ID card?’
‘I don't know... I've never used it.’
These remarks, gathered from passers-by, open the report by journalist Renato Piccoli for Rai Uno's weekly in-depth programme, Settegiorni Parlamento, dedicated to the theme of the ‘digital generation divide’.
While young people navigate effortlessly between apps and social media, for many older people, the sea of the internet has become an ocean that is difficult to navigate. ‘It really becomes a maze for us,’ confesses one interviewee, describing her frustration with password change requests or system messages such as ‘you are a robot’.
The report, broadcast last Saturday on Rai Uno, highlights a complex reality, confirmed by a survey by Altroconsumo: out of 1,000 people, as many as 168 need assistance just to access services, and over 200 are unable to use them at all. Many senior citizens rely on what they jokingly refer to as “two beautiful crutches”, i.e. their children and grandchildren, who take care of all their paperwork for them.
Onelia Onorati comments on the data, explaining that, although senior citizens today enjoy excellent physical and mental health, new technologies remain an opportunity for too limited a section of the population. For this reason, Onorati emphasises, it is essential to focus on training to enable them to exercise “active citizenship” at all levels.
This is where the digital facilitators of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale come into play. In the report, we see them at work teaching how to create a secure password and how to use digital identity. A real “passport to the digital world” that allows people to overcome the barriers of exclusion.
The programme ends with a historical reference: just as Maestro Manzi taught Italian with “It's Never Too Late”, today a similar television initiative could be the key to making digital technology accessible to all. Because, as one citizen points out, everything is done online nowadays: “You have to keep up to date and take courses”.
