Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in Italy
Abstract The broad definition of intergenerational contact includes not only meeting face-to-face, but also the important element of communication at a distance, such as via telephone. With the pervasion of the Internet and electronic devices, digital contact has become another increasingly importan...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Genus |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-022-00167-5 |
| _version_ | 1818202906737770496 |
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| author | Bruno Arpino Eleonora Meli Marta Pasqualini Cecilia Tomassini Elisa Cisotto |
| author_facet | Bruno Arpino Eleonora Meli Marta Pasqualini Cecilia Tomassini Elisa Cisotto |
| author_sort | Bruno Arpino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The broad definition of intergenerational contact includes not only meeting face-to-face, but also the important element of communication at a distance, such as via telephone. With the pervasion of the Internet and electronic devices, digital contact has become another increasingly important option. We examined digital contact between grandparents and grandchildren in comparison with traditional forms of contact (i.e. face-to-face and by telephone) using Italian data from the 2016 Families, Social Subjects and life cycle (FSS) survey. We found that grandparents belonging to younger cohorts, those with higher education, those who lived in urban areas and those in better health were more likely to maintain digital contact with their grandchildren. Results also show that digital contact tends to compensate for a lack of (frequent) face-to-face contact, and to cumulate with telephone contact. Our results have significant implications for the current and future development of intergenerational relationships as they suggest an increasing role of digital contact for distant geographical situations. Against the background of persisting inequalities in the access and the use of the Internet, our findings emphasise the need to improve digital network connectivity and user skills, particularly among specific sub-groups of the population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:16:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a13b637aba1e472dbf51f73cff684bb9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2035-5556 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:16:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genus |
| spelling | doaj.art-a13b637aba1e472dbf51f73cff684bb92022-12-22T00:40:16ZengSpringerOpenGenus2035-55562022-06-0178112210.1186/s41118-022-00167-5Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in ItalyBruno Arpino0Eleonora Meli1Marta Pasqualini2Cecilia Tomassini3Elisa Cisotto4Department of Statistics, Computer Science, Applications, University of FlorenceIstatSapienza, University of RomeUniversità Degli Studi del MoliseFree University of Bozen-BolzanoAbstract The broad definition of intergenerational contact includes not only meeting face-to-face, but also the important element of communication at a distance, such as via telephone. With the pervasion of the Internet and electronic devices, digital contact has become another increasingly important option. We examined digital contact between grandparents and grandchildren in comparison with traditional forms of contact (i.e. face-to-face and by telephone) using Italian data from the 2016 Families, Social Subjects and life cycle (FSS) survey. We found that grandparents belonging to younger cohorts, those with higher education, those who lived in urban areas and those in better health were more likely to maintain digital contact with their grandchildren. Results also show that digital contact tends to compensate for a lack of (frequent) face-to-face contact, and to cumulate with telephone contact. Our results have significant implications for the current and future development of intergenerational relationships as they suggest an increasing role of digital contact for distant geographical situations. Against the background of persisting inequalities in the access and the use of the Internet, our findings emphasise the need to improve digital network connectivity and user skills, particularly among specific sub-groups of the population.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-022-00167-5Digital contactIntergenerational relationshipsItalyGrandparentingGrandparent–grandchild contact |
| spellingShingle | Bruno Arpino Eleonora Meli Marta Pasqualini Cecilia Tomassini Elisa Cisotto Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in Italy Genus Digital contact Intergenerational relationships Italy Grandparenting Grandparent–grandchild contact |
| title | Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in Italy |
| title_full | Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in Italy |
| title_fullStr | Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in Italy |
| title_short | Determinants of grandparent–grandchild digital contact in Italy |
| title_sort | determinants of grandparent grandchild digital contact in italy |
| topic | Digital contact Intergenerational relationships Italy Grandparenting Grandparent–grandchild contact |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-022-00167-5 |
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