"When I get old, I don't want to be an island. We should transform the world we live in into a world where older people can spend the rest of their lives safely and happily."
At the beginning of this year, Xiao Pan, a post-00s Zhejiang college student, wrote these words on the social platform Douban, and created the "'Aging Reconstruction' Promotion Association" group.
In just two months, the group attracted more than 20,000 people to join.
"Is there any fitness app for the elderly", "recommendation of the toilet next to the armrest", "how to transform the house where parents are retired"... The elderly pension problems faced by young people with different needs are frequently discussed here.
Our country is entering an aging society, and "elderly care" has always been a concern of the whole society.
This year's government work report mentioned for the first time that the renovation of a number of old urban communities will be started, and the construction of barrier-free environments and the renovation of suitable aging will be promoted.
Under the background of my country's implementation of the national strategy to actively respond to population aging, under the catalysis of the "silver economy", the aging-friendly industry may become a new outlet.
Transformation starts with awareness
At the end of last year, Xiao Pan, who came home from winter vacation, often received "help" from his parents: how to submit a nucleic acid test report in the questionnaire, how to operate a smart TV... She told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network: "Young people are familiar with Routines have become a small and trivial problem for parents, which makes me worry about how they will solve it when I go back to school?”
Before the formation of the group, Xiao Pan learned about the concept of "appropriate aging" through a variety show "Forget the Restaurant".
She consulted a large amount of information and found that the public is most concerned about interior home renovation, mobile app and web page adaptation for aging, "In addition, I think it is necessary to strengthen the aging design of urban space, need to transform social and market logic, need every Young people who care about the plight and needs of the elderly take action.”
Huang Yuxin, a post-95 Hunan girl, also learned about age-appropriate transformation through the variety show "Dream Transforming Home".
She told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that age-appropriate products may be more suitable for the current elderly than age-appropriate transformation.
"In the opinion of most elderly people, they are willing to spend money to renovate their children's houses, but they are still reluctant to renovate their own houses. They always feel that they can live in it."
It takes a lot of energy to renovate a house. "The reality is that young people are all working, their parents have not retired, and their grandparents don't understand and have no such energy." In Huang Yuxin's view, it is necessary to rely on community-based nursing homes for aging. And Pratt & Whitney's aging-friendly products, "Aging is a problem that everyone needs to face, but time, energy, money and ideas cannot be ignored."
What impressed Xiao Pan was that someone in the group asked, "Do you have any recommendations for a locator for the elderly?" A netizen left a message saying, "You can buy a smart watch for children."
Xiaopan found that under the same demand, there are still too few products for the elderly. "When we grow old, we will encounter similar problems in the face of a rapidly changing society. I hope that more and more elderly people will meet the needs of the elderly. Be noticed by society and business.”
Wang Xuan, a designer born in the 1990s, is also a member of the "Aging Reconstruction Promotion Association" group. He was surprised that "so many young people are paying attention to the topic of aging and aging."
He once engaged in the design of old-age space in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and believes that before the home is suitable for aging, it is necessary to understand the living needs of the elderly, and customize the plan according to the physical function, living habits and cultural background of the elderly, "instead of pursuing comfort and luxury, Perfunctory with 'universal design'".
In his view, as an extension of the aging at home, the external environment where many elderly people gather should also be transformed in time.
In recent years, urban renewal has been carried out in full swing across the country, and "barrier-free" and "appropriate aging" have become hot words that are frequently mentioned.
The reporter visited and found that with the strong support of national and local policies, the aging-appropriate transformation has been extended to many scenarios such as public places, communities, medical and health institutions, sports and fitness venues, and families.
However, according to Liu Ying, co-founder of Chengdu Langli Pension Industry Development Co., Ltd., there is still a long way to go to adapt to aging, and what is most needed now is to improve awareness of renovation, "Although the concept of aging has been widely mentioned in the past two years, However, it is far from reaching the level of popularization and awareness in the whole society. Compared with the vigorously carried out Internet aging-friendly transformation, the understanding of offline aging-friendly transformation may still be understood by the public in terms of installing handrails, anti-skid, etc. In fact, it is far more than These".
No evaluation, no modification
Having been engaged in the elderly care industry and aging-friendly transformation projects for more than 10 years, Liu Ying believes that my country's aging-friendly transformation is still in the initial stage.
In her view, on the one hand, children are actively transforming the home environment for their parents, but parents think that "this is not an urgent or necessary thing".
She said: "We have encountered many home renovation projects. When we started the renovation, we were blocked by the elderly. We felt that we were healthy and there was no need to spend this money. Accepting new things requires a process, and at the same time, they need to realize that renovation is necessary. It's also prevention."
"On the other hand, the market suitable for aging needs to be cultivated slowly, and the home evaluation before the transformation is also a big difficulty." Liu Ying said that they have formed a unique transformation evaluation system based on the practical data of more than 50,000 users. , including the living ability of the elderly, the needs of assistive devices, the home environment, family relationships, personality psychology, etc., will be digitally assessed.
"There is no evaluation, no renovation, and the aging-friendly renovation of the home must be personalized and customized." She said that the aging-friendly renovation is not simply "renovation", from the anti-skid treatment of the home environment to the consideration of the life of family members living together. And the live-in nanny who takes care of the elderly need to be evaluated. “Aging-appropriate transformation can not only improve the quality of life of the elderly, make sick elderly live more dignified, but also relieve the pressure of caregivers.”
According to Aunt Cao's height and living habits, we customized beautiful and firm handrails, created a barrier-free bathroom for Uncle Yuan who lives alone, and designed various products such as tables and chairs suitable for aging. man's best friend.
Similarly, she also believes that "professional aging-appropriate transformation should be completed by a professional team".
Li Jinghui grew up by her grandfather's side since she was a child. After she left her hometown to study at university, her grandfather who was at home alone grew old year by year, which became her concern.
Based on the pain point of grandpa's pension, she founded Yinchao Senior Industry Development Co., Ltd.
In Li Jinghui's view, the aging-appropriate transformation should incorporate more elements of the elderly, "to make the home more suitable for the elderly".
In order to allow the elderly to see the effect of the renovation at a glance, they developed a comprehensive evaluation and renovation system suitable for aging, and carried out quantitative evaluation for the family through smart terminals. , Mercure, smart, wearable devices, etc. will be taken into account.”
In the past two years, the company has also carried out aging-appropriate transformation for the elderly in difficulties in Ningbo.
Compared with the aging-friendly renovation at home, the inter-city aging-friendly renovation vigorously promoted by local government departments has entered the public's field of vision earlier.
Having participated in the renovation of elderly care institutions and communities in many cities, Liu Ying believes that, for example, old buildings in the 1970s and 1980s, the renovation of small community parks and public toilets, as well as some new real estate projects, "it is necessary to improve the accessibility of barriers. It puts forward higher requirements for aging-friendly facilities and brings more convenience to the elderly from the social level.”
Yang Guangpang, a post-90s designer who participated in a street renovation project in Shanghai, said: "All kinds of facilities are getting old and lack of barrier-free facilities. These are all problems that need to be solved urgently." The entire community has not yet had a deep understanding of the aging-appropriate renovation. "When I actually did the project, I found that the aging-appropriate renovation design is the emotional design, demand design, detail design, and intelligent design of the elderly, and it is to achieve psychological care through design."
From Shanghai to Wuhan to start a business, and now, Yang Guangpang and his friends have co-founded Duaou (Wuhan) Design Co., Ltd.
In his view, urban renewal and aging-friendly renovation are still in their infancy, and the market is huge. "During an on-site investigation, when we explained to an old man that we wanted to add many aging-friendly facilities to the community, the old man's attitude never resisted. It became support. We could feel their urgent need.”
The trillion-dollar market calls for more innovation
On February 24, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other four departments jointly issued the "Notice on Promoting the "14th Five-Year Plan" Special Difficulty Elderly Family Reconstruction Work for Aging", proposing to support 2 million elderly and disabled families with special difficulties during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. . The disabled elderly families implement aging-appropriate transformation.
As early as 2020, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other 9 departments also jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Implementation of the Home-Aging Retrofit Project for the Elderly", proposing to strengthen industrial support, stimulate market vitality, and accelerate the cultivation of the home-based aging retrofit market.
Liang Chunxiao, director of the Pangu Think Tank Aging Society Research Center, said that from homes to various public infrastructures, including shopping malls, libraries, banks, transportation, etc., the entire society is currently facing the aging transformation of the infrastructure.
"The good news is that in recent years, more and more companies and products have taken aging-appropriate elements into account."
In Dashilar, Xicheng District, Beijing, Baidu Wufu AI platform for the elderly uses artificial intelligence voice interaction technology to set up an exclusive functional section based on a more friendly language scene for the elderly, which is not only a smart device, but also a social life companion.
Tencent has cooperated with Shenzhen nursing homes since 2019, trying to apply artificial intelligence technology to improve nursing services. For example, nursing homes are using "invisible nurses" smart nursing care systems. To protect privacy, they use thermal sensing technology instead of cameras. Set up outdoors and indoors, so that the staff can easily know the whereabouts of the elderly.
"The process of digitalization is accelerating, and technology and innovation are the core of the entire aging-friendly industry." Liang Chunxiao said, due to the huge demand brought about by the aging-friendly transformation of the entire society, "aging-friendly transformation will become a hot track. We initially estimate that, This will be an industry with a market value of trillions of yuan, but it is still in its infancy." In his view, there is a rich demand for related services and products in terms of ageing assessment, scheme design, and the transformation of various household appliances. In the long industrial chain, every piece is worth digging deeply.”
China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Meng Peipei