Social networking and the third age

Difficulties with access to ICT and an inadequate use of them risk to increase exclusion of the elderly population and to make the socio-cultural and inter-generational gap greater than it has ever been. Online learning environments based on social networking could not only give an opportunity for individual cultural growth, but also for conceiving a range of practical applications of great social significance such as conscientious access, search and use of information, fruition of a multitude of web services, socialization within online communities, and the sharing of experiences and resources. This article aims at verifying to what extent targeted initiatives of e-learning, like the one referred to here, may facilitate the elderly to gain benefits from what the present knowledge society offers, enabling them to be aware of and at the same time active participants in the current innovative processest.