ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates how young people experience the adoption and use of everyday life technologies, such as television, radio, mobile phones and computers, by their grandparents and by elderly people in general. Older people are probably the least-studied age group in respect to ICT use and adoption. Nowadays, the older population lives longer than before, and many will reach advanced old age. As Eurobarometer reports, in every EU member state mobile telephony is considered by far the most important communication device in people's daily lives, followed by mobile internet and fixed landline telephony. Statistics on the diffusion and use of digital technologies show that gender is an important mediating influence that increases with age. In the students' reports, there was little trace of generational consciousness in relation to new technology. Probably this stems from the social isolation in which many elderly persons live, which limits the possibility for them to feel any strong sense of belonging.
