The image of older Italians as reluctant newcomers to the internet is increasingly outdated. Smartphones, video calls, digital public services and online health platforms have become part of everyday life for millions of people over 65.
However, Italy’s digital transformation remains uneven. Some older adults comfortably manage video calls, online banking and government services, while others still depend on relatives for basic digital tasks. Age, education, income, geography and the availability of local assistance all influence who benefits from being online.
Internet Use Among Older People in Italy
The latest ISTAT figures show substantial progress. In 2025, 72.5% of Italians aged 65–74 had used the internet during the previous three months, up from 68.1% in 2024. Among people aged 75 and over, usage rose from 31.4% to 35.7%.
These numbers represent an extraordinary change from the early years of widespread internet adoption. Nevertheless, the decline after age 75 remains pronounced, and access is not universal. Only 63.9% of Italian households composed exclusively of people aged 65 or older had an internet connection at home in 2025.
The divide is therefore no longer simply between people who use the internet and people who do not. It also concerns the quality of access, confidence, security awareness and the ability to complete important tasks without assistance.
A person may use WhatsApp every day yet still struggle to download a medical report, make an electronic payment or identify a fraudulent message.
Why Going Online Matters in Later Life
For many older Italians, the most immediate benefit of digital technology is maintaining contact with family and friends.
Children and grandchildren may live in another region or outside Italy. Video calls, family messaging groups and shared photographs allow people to participate in everyday family life despite the distance. Online communities can also help users reconnect with former schoolmates, colleagues or relatives abroad.
This is particularly relevant in a country with a large and geographically dispersed diaspora. Italia Mia’s guide to Italians around the world explores how Italian communities have maintained relationships across borders and generations.
Digital communication does not replace meeting someone for coffee, visiting a relative or participating in community life. It works best as an additional connection rather than a substitute for face-to-face relationships.
Living Alone Is Not the Same as Loneliness
Italy’s ageing population makes social connection an increasingly important issue. According to ISTAT’s analysis of housing conditions, 2.7 million Italian households consisted of a person aged 75 or older living alone in 2023. That was approximately 10% of all households.
Living alone and feeling lonely are not identical. Some people value their independence and maintain active social networks. Others may live with relatives yet still experience emotional loneliness or isolation.
The World Health Organization regards loneliness and social isolation as public-health concerns. Its international estimates suggest that loneliness affects people of every age, while social isolation may affect as many as one in three older adults.
Digital tools can help by facilitating regular contact, participation in interest groups and access to community information. However, giving someone a smartphone is not, by itself, a remedy for loneliness. Meaningful relationships, accessible public spaces, reliable transport and local social services remain essential.
From WhatsApp to Digital Public Services
WhatsApp and Facebook are no longer novelties among older internet users. Messaging, photographs and video calls are often the entry point, but the practical value of digital access now extends much further.
Older residents can use the internet to:
- communicate with relatives and friends;
- read Italian and international news;
- book medical appointments;
- consult regional healthcare portals;
- access the Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico;
- obtain prescriptions and medical reports;
- manage pension and social-security information;
- use banking services and make payments;
- communicate with their municipality;
- access services through SPID or the electronic identity card;
- book trains, accommodation and cultural visits;
- follow courses, concerts, religious services and exercise programmes;
- explore family history through online archives and Italian genealogy resources.
For someone with reduced mobility or living in a small town, completing a simple administrative task from home can avoid a lengthy journey and considerable waiting time.
Technology can also support independence through medication reminders, enlarged text, voice commands, emergency functions and navigation applications. The right settings can make an ordinary smartphone considerably more accessible.
Online Health Information: Useful but Not a Diagnosis
The internet makes health information easier to find, but the quality of that information varies enormously.
Reliable institutional websites can help people prepare questions for a doctor, understand a medical term or learn how to access a public service. Online portals may also make it easier to review test results and communicate with healthcare providers.
Nevertheless, social-media posts, advertisements and artificial-intelligence tools should not be treated as replacements for professional medical advice. Dramatic “miracle cures,” supplements promising impossible results and messages designed to create fear deserve particular caution.
Personal health documents should be accessed only through official portals or applications. Medical details, identity documents and access credentials should never be sent to an unknown person who makes contact through messaging or social media.
The Risks Older Internet Users Should Know
Greater digital participation also brings exposure to phishing, identity theft, fraudulent investments, fake technical-support calls and romance scams.
Fraudsters frequently create urgency. A message may claim that a bank account has been blocked, a parcel cannot be delivered or a relative needs money immediately. Other scams develop slowly, building trust over weeks before requesting a payment.
A few habits provide strong protection:
- Never reveal a password, PIN, one-time security code or SPID credential.
- Do not approve an unexpected banking notification.
- Avoid opening links in alarming messages.
- Contact the bank, public office or family member using a number already known to be genuine.
- Do not transfer money to someone known only through an online relationship.
- Be suspicious of investments promising high returns without risk.
- Use a different password for every important account.
- Activate two-step verification whenever possible.
- Keep the phone, tablet and computer updated.
- Ask a trusted person for a second opinion before making an unusual payment.
Antivirus software can be useful, but it cannot prevent every deception. The most valuable protection is the willingness to pause and verify.
Suspected online crimes can be reported through the official website of the Polizia Postale. Anyone who believes banking credentials have been compromised should also contact the bank immediately.
Learning Without Embarrassment
Digital exclusion is sometimes described as a failure by older people to adapt. That is an unfair interpretation. Many services have confusing interfaces, small text, complicated authentication systems and instructions written for experienced users.
Effective teaching begins with the tasks a person actually wants to perform. A useful first lesson might be making a video call, enlarging the text on a phone or recognising a suspicious message—not learning abstract computer terminology.
Family members can help by explaining one operation at a time and allowing the learner to perform it. Taking control of the device may complete the immediate task, but it does little to build independence.
Written instructions with screenshots can be helpful, especially when they use the same device and operating system as the learner. Repetition is normal and should not be treated as a problem.
Italy’s Punti Digitale Facile provide free assistance and training for citizens who need help with smartphones, computers, SPID, online payments, the Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico, the IO app and other digital services. The national programme includes centres in municipalities, libraries and community spaces.
A Practical Digital Starter Plan
An older person who is beginning to use the internet does not need to learn everything at once. A sensible progression could be:
- Learn how to unlock the device, adjust the volume and enlarge the text.
- Practise making and receiving calls and video calls.
- Save trusted contacts and recognise unknown numbers.
- Learn the difference between a website, an application and a message.
- Practise taking and sharing photographs safely.
- Set up strong passwords and two-step verification.
- Learn how to recognise suspicious links and urgent requests.
- Begin using one practical service, such as a medical portal or train-booking application.
- Keep a trusted person’s telephone number available for questions.
- Continue combining online activity with real-world relationships and interests.
The objective is not constant connectivity. It is having sufficient knowledge to make independent choices.
Beyond the Stereotype of the “Silver Surfer”
The term “silver surfer” once described an unusual older internet user. It now covers an extremely diverse population: recently retired professionals, grandparents communicating with family abroad, people discovering online services for the first time and users in their eighties or nineties who have been online for years.
Italy has made considerable progress, but the continuing gap among people over 75 shows why digital inclusion still matters. Websites and public services must become easier to use, while training must remain local, patient and accessible.
Getting online later in life can strengthen independence, expand access to information and make communication easier. Its greatest value appears when technology supports—not replaces—the relationships, routines and communities that give everyday life meaning.
External Links
- ISTAT: Citizens and ICT – 2025
- ISTAT: Housing Conditions of Older People
- ISTAT: Are We Ageing Well?
- World Health Organization: Social Isolation and Loneliness
- Repubblica Digitale: Digital Facilitation Network
- Polizia Postale: Online Reporting and Safety Information
