Young People and their Significant Adults in Italy. The Constitution of Youth Generations through the Use of the Internet

Abstract

This paper presents the results of research carried out in Italian schools in relation to the world of adults and young people. It principally focuses on generational relationships through the use of new digital technologies. The research design, the analytical techniques used as well as the models constructed will be described from the perspective of the general relevance of technology for society, discussed on the basis of the theoretical writings of Mead, Mannheim and Castells. Secondary data will be used to describe the Internet population with reference to the variables of not only sex, age, education and geographical area but also generational. Subsequently, the quantitative and qualitative results of the effects of the Internet on generational relationships will be presented. In detail, how young people and adults use the Web within the relationships between parents-children and teachers-students. Finally, the results of the multi-dimensional analysis are summarized. In this perspective, by using the Mannheim concept of generation, it is possible to state that digital technology has instituted the current generation of young people, on the basis of the process that occurs when there are cultural experiences that characterize a cohort in relation to the previous one.