Time‐use of Italians and the aging process

Abstract

The Italian population is ageing at a considerable pace and will continue so even more intensively in the next decades, when the more crowded generations of the baby boom of the sixties of the last century will be entering old age. The impact of this growing number of elderly is an important societal challenge, a challenge that will be taken up successfully only if Italian society will be able to capture the changes in the characteristics of the aged population, its potentials, and changed life styles. Based on some of the stereotypes regarding old age represented as life phases characterized by loneliness, lack of interest and lack of participation in social life, this contribution studies the Italian case analysing the time use pattern of the at least 60 years olds. The aim is to identify some of the factors that, in addition to age, affect the time use pattern of the elderly. The study is based on the data of the 2008-09 ISTAT Time Use Survey. The results show that population aging does not proceed in a linear fashion with calendar age and that, contrary to stereotypical representation; the elderly are not a homogeneous social category. Taking into consideration a typical day, the foremost discontinuity is linked to the exit from the labour market, while further ruptures are identified for different types of activity. For example, after age 70 the time spent in social activities and active leisure (voluntary work, religious participation, visits to family and friends, etc.) is reduced, while starting with the age group 75-79 we observe less time devoted to activities linked to family care. Age is not the only intervening factor since other variables influence the choices of the elderly regarding their daily activities: gender, the type of household in which they live, especially, the presence of a partner, as well as the level of educational attainment, the health status and the economic conditions.