Introduction:
Permanent connectivity with digital technology has made it relevant to study the multiple changes in lifestyle as a complex experience. Quality of digital experience (QDE) and immersion in digital life (IDL) are two constructs that have gained relevance in current research. They have begun to be studied in the European population and are known to affect people’s lifestyles. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects that sex, age, and their interaction may have on QDE and IDL in a group of participants drawn from the Spanish population.

Method:
Participants of the present study were 795 Spanish adults between 18 and 65 years old (412 women and 381 men; 2 did not identify as women nor men). Participants were divided by age cohorts: 18-29 (n = 109), 30-39 (n = 124), 40-49 (n = 187), 50-59 (n = 251), and 60-65 (n = 124). The Spanish versions of the Quality of Digital Experience Scale (QDES), and the Immersion in Digital Life Scale (IDLS) were used. Descriptive, correlational, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were carried out with IBM SPSS v.30.

Results:
Bivariate correlation analysis showed a positive and significant relationship between QDE and IDL (r = .69; p = .001). MANOVA analysis revealed statistically significant differences in QDE and IDL (Wilks = 0.980; F = 2,02; df = 8,000; p = .040; 2 = .010) predicted by the interaction between sex and age. The inter-subjects test revealed that the interaction between sex and age did only significantly predict QDE (p = .012). Tukey post hoc test revealed that there were statistically significant sex-differences in the 18-29 and the 30-39 age cohorts: this is, men had higher scores among 18-29 year olds (M = 3,84 versus M = 3,42) and 30-39 year olds (M = 3,57 versus M = 3,34); whereas in the 60-65 age cohort women (M = 3,34) had the higher score compared to men (M = 3,21). Regarding age groups, there was a statistically significant difference between the 18-29 (M = 3,54) age cohort and the 60-65 (M = 3,27) age cohort.

Discussion:
All in all, results reveal that QDE may be different by sex and age. Gender roles associated with sex need to be explored as these may generate different types of experiences also depending on the age cohort. Regarding age ranges, generational differences also seem to shape the quality of digital experience significantly. QDE and IDL make possible to study the changes in lifestyles embedded in the current digital era.

Acknowledgements and Funding:
This research was funded by the CHANSE. Program. Project: Time experience in Europe's Digital age – TIMED: REF: PCI2022-135016-2 (10/2022- 09/2025). IP (Spain): Núria Codina Mata

Keywords: Digital experience, immersion in digital life, quality of experience.