Adult education, the use of information and communication technologies and the impact on quality of life : a case study

In recent years, there has been a growing interest among scholars on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their beneficial effects on elderly wellbeing; almost all contributions support the positive impact of ICTs among older population because their use has been demonstrated to enhance social participation and psychosocial wellbeing. This paper contributes to the extant literature by using a specific and comprehensive measure of quality of life, the WHOQol-Bref, on a sample of 341 individuals attending the University of Third Age in an Italian town. Through different model specifications, we are able to demonstrate the positive impact of ICTs’ use on elderly quality of life. Results corroborate the findings of existing literature and provide insight on possible policy measures framed in an active aging approach.