Date: Tuesday, 23 June 2026, at 12:15 pm
Venue: Seminar Room Bruguier Pacini, DEM
Speaker: Tommaso Budini, University of Florence
Abstract: Assessing digital poverty among youth is crucial to understand whether younger generations possess the skills needed to fully participate in an increasingly digitalised society. While existing research often relies on citizen data sources, this paper adopts a different approach, grounding the analysis in official micro-data. Specifically, the study leverages data from the Italian Aspects of Daily Life (AVQ) survey conducted by the National Statistical Institute (Istat), ensuring both methodological rigor and statistical representativeness. By focusing on the 6–19 age group and in providing sub-regional estimates, the analysis addresses a notable gap in the literature, as this population is often overlooked in large-scale surveys and public policy discussions about digital inequalities at the local level. Building on the Digital Poverty Alliance framework, digital poverty is conceptualised as a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing device & connectivity, access, capabilities, motivation and support. In this study, three dimensions are operationalized. Device & Connectivity refers to the physical availability of digital devices and their internet connectivity. Access refers to individuals’ effective ability to use these resources, that is, whether they have direct and reliable access to both devices and an internet connection in their everyday environment. Capabilities refer to individuals’ digital skills, that is, their ability to effectively use technologies for a variety of purposes. To overcome sample size constraints and enable robust territorial analysis, the paper adopts a data pooling strategy combining four cross-sectional waves (2021–2024). This allows for reliable estimation at both regional and metropolitan levels. By integrating a theoretically grounded framework with high-quality official micro-data, the study provides a consistent and policy-relevant measurement of digital poverty, shedding light on its territorial and demographic distribution.
