The variables and scores corresponding to the quantitative evaluation are shown in Table 1. The number of high scores is of particular interest (the lowest average score was 8.7/10), indicating both a possible high level of satisfaction with the intervention and a possible lack of critical consideration on behalf of the respondents, potentially because of peer influence when filling in the questionnaires.

The quantitative analysis consists of two forms of participation: in the first part, the participants are asked to identify the strengths and potential areas for improvement in the activity. These are summarized in Table 2.

The answers, which represent the main results of this experience, show that the activity had a positive impact on the juniors from the point of view of personal experience, interpersonal relations, and self-esteem; that the seniors considered the ability to use their own smartphone or tablet very useful and the involvement of only two people made it easy to deal with their questions and needs in a personalized way; and that both juniors and seniors value the fact that they always worked with the same partner. On the other hand, both groups of participants thought that the timing, duration, and scheduling of the sessions were aspects that could be improved.

In the second part of the qualitative approach, a random selection of participants were asked a question while they were participating in the sessions: The senior users (25 respondents) were asked, “Out of everything you’ve learnt, which 3 items did you like the most?” The answers are summarized in Textbox 3, highlighting the learning elements related to the use of WhatsApp and using the phone, in general, as well as a general feeling of having gained confidence in using the device.

The junior participants were also individually chosen at random to answer the following question: “What have you got out of this activity?” We identified three areas of consensus: first, working on stereotypes (with comments such as “some of them don’t have children or grandchildren,” “some of them are fun,” or “some of them know a lot about using a mobile phone”); second, the sense of personal fulfilment (for example, “it makes you feel good to help,” “happiness,” “it's nice to help,” “really good”); and finally, it shows the importance of the fact that the activity allowed them to take decisions in guiding their partner's learning, face up to challenges, and learn new things (eg, “they’ve asked me something I don’t know, so I’ll look into it for the next session”). The majority stated that they made use of the user’s guide of suggested topics and that they referred to the contents at a basic level. Thus, on the one hand, the seniors who signed up had a very basic knowledge regarding the use of mobile devices and, on the other hand, the uses and contents that interested them the most were those that allowed them to have better control over the device.

In keeping with the quantitative evaluation, the results generally show a very high level of satisfaction and highlight its main drivers. From the point of view of personal experience, the participants emphasized the significance of learning and collaborating with another individual. The activity’s strengths were the format of working in pairs; pairing people by operating system; the use of the participants’ own mobile phones; the freedom to decide what they wished to learn, develop, or practice; and the availability of voluntary practice material, which facilitates communication and learning. It has been shown that the activity can serve to create mutual learning through the use of mobile devices and generate security and motivation on the part of the seniors, thus reducing the digital divide and improving social inclusion [21-24].

The quantitative results presented can be taken into account in terms of positively assessing to what extent the objectives have been met, but they unfortunately do not provide useful insights on the success drivers of the interventions. Nuances and critical aspects to be taken into account in further studies can be derived only from the qualitative evaluation, which is in line with previous literature showing that seniors can benefit from the learning process and improve their digital self-efficacy and that the intervention can be successful in building an intergenerational bridge [25-27]. Previous analysis also shows that those benefits are not systematic and depend on the meaningfulness of the activities, organization of the program, and participants’ knowledge of the other generation [28]. This can explain the assessed success of our program, which emphasized the student training and material preparation.

We were unable to analyze variations in the effectiveness of our intervention due to resource limitation. Therefore, further studies attempting to replicate the intervention described here should analyze these variations, depending on the previous senior digital literacy and age. Moreover, constant developments in mobile devices (versions, design, capacities, etc) suggest that such training, as that described herein, should have a longer continuity to better assess the effect of the intervention over time. In addition, the questionnaire should be further adapted to capture all the critical analyses of the youngsters.

The activity’s success is based on its design, which takes into account the needs and abilities of the participants: location, facilities and design of the spaces, training young people receive, and materials used in conducting the sessions, paying special attention to the seniors’ learning environment so that they can take full advantage of opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills, and the learning environment of the young people so that they can carry out their tasks effectively while also enjoying learning. Similarly, attention must be paid to certain requirements that may affect development of the activity: connectivity, noise level in the classroom, dividing the participants into pairs, the duration and timetabling, and the type of training (which should be personalized and adapted to the users’ needs, although they should also have material available to them as a guide if they so wish).

Many functions of so-called smartphones have been designed without taking into account the needs of senior users; nevertheless, seniors are interested in improving their knowledge and learning to use technology to take advantage of what it offers, as shown by their motivation in carrying out the activity, but also in relation to the dynamics of the session (personalization) and the learning contents (basic). This project addresses the risk of a digital divide, which can increase social inequality. It does so by empowering and transmitting skills. The intergenerational approach leads to mutual and fundamentally bidirectional learning and allows older people to resume their traditional role as transmitters of knowledge.