THE SOCIAL NETWORKS AND INTERGENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES: AN ANALYSIS BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES

The following article presents the results of a study of the various users of the Internet and social networks, with the intention of determining the existence and complexity of the intergenerational digital divide. From data collection in various secondary schools in Nevada, (USA), the Basque Country and Cataluna (Spain) and Las Marcas and Emilia-Romagna (Italy) in Europe, responses of parents and their children were analyzed regarding the presence and use of online social networks. From the data collected from these sources, we have created a user variable to compare various digital realities in relation to different age groups and their places of origin. The results indicate that intergenerational differences have diminished between children and their parents in both the U.S. and Europe; differences were found in relation to the age groups of social network users and that, in the two social realities studied (U.S. and Europe), there are significant differences in the social media presence of parents and adolescents. The findings clarify the complexity of differences in the intergenerational use of online social networks, as well as refine and complement the conception of the digital divide offered by other studies and researchers.