Elderly, how to better integrate into smart life (decoding and narrowing the digital divide)
Online shopping, mobile payment, online registration, and the popularization of mobile Internet are profoundly changing lives. However, for some elderly people, convenient technology has brought inconvenience: during the epidemic, they could not scan the health code and wandered out of the community. They could not use mobile payment. They were anxious at supermarkets where it was difficult to find change. Disappointed...
How to prevent the elderly from becoming outsiders in the digital life in the intelligent age? This edition launches a series of reports "Decoding · Bridging the Digital Divide", focusing on the current state of "touching the Internet" of the elderly, helping them adapt to the intelligent age, sharing the benefits of technology, and exploring ways to solve problems.
--editor
The picture from top to bottom is:
Luo Xu (left) teaches the elderly to use mobile phones.
Yang Li is recording a short video.
Profile picture
Ding Qiulin reads in the community bookstore.
Photo by our reporter Shen Zhilin
Short video platform expert "Piano Grandpa" Yang Su——
"The Internet Opens My New World"
Our reporter Han Xin
Entering the 60th year of his life, Yang Li felt that he was "old age", "no matter what age, if he can't master the mainstream technology tools, and his mentality is far from the society, then he is truly old."
In the afterglow of the setting sun, a beautiful and melodious piano song poured out from my fingertips-not long after the video of more than 1 minute was released, the likes quickly broke 10,000. Somewhat unexpectedly, the creator of this short video is a gray-haired old man.
The old man's name is Yang Su, and he is a full-time short video blogger. His account "Piano Production Team" on the Douyin platform has more than 2.3 million fans and over 100 million views.
"Two years ago, my son accidentally uploaded a video of me playing the piano at home. Unexpectedly, it only took a few hours and the playback volume exceeded one million." Yang said that after graduating from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, he played in the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. For piano, there are more than a thousand spectators in the audience. Now performing on the Internet platform, "suddenly opened the door to the Internet world, and since then it has been'out of control'." In two years, Yang Li produced more than 600 short videos.
The process of selecting repertoires and searching online music; setting up a mobile phone holder and choosing a good angle, young people may not be able to "play well", Yang Su did it in one go. The learning process is not easy, my eyesight is reduced, my eyes hurt after reading the music for a long time, because I can’t edit, I have to play each piece completely. "At first, the lighting, angle, and composition were always inappropriate. A slippers and a bottle of vinegar popped up in the picture from time to time, and the children gave some pointers." Yang said with a laugh.
After learning the short video, Yang Su's "Internet" journey rides the wind and waves all the way. He loves to write articles, created the WeChat public account "Lord Li", and also tried to tutor the piano remotely. "The Internet opens up my new world. When I open my eyes every day, I am busy from morning to night. I never feel bored in my old age." Yang said.
Entering the 60th year of his life this year, Yang Li feels that he is "old and not old." He believes that no matter what age you are, if you can't master the mainstream technical tools, and you are far from society in your mentality, then you are truly old. "In the future, I want to use the Internet to bring this kind of cold art of piano closer to the public," Yang said.
Ding Qiulin, a 72-year-old man who is not used to using smartphones——
"WeChat call is the only skilled skill"
Our reporter Shen Zhilin
Old Ding was originally worried that he would be restricted everywhere if he could not keep up with this intelligent age. After experiencing it, I found that society is still very friendly to the elderly.
After breakfast, 72-year-old Ding Qiulin is going to sit in the community bookstore. As soon as he went out, the leather bag hung around his waist vibrated. After a long while, he realized that there was a WeChat call.
Take out the phone and click to answer: "Old Ding, help me get a class." The caller was a member of the "Laokouzi" family service team in Puyuan Community, Dongtang Street, Yuhua District, Changsha, Hunan.
"The smart phone has been used for more than a year, and WeChat call is the only proficient skill." Lao Ding said embarrassedly, "Just like that, I'm still a little uncomfortable with it."
There are a lot of elderly retired people in the community, and there are indeed not many people who are used to using smart phones well.
It's not that I don't want to use it, but it's difficult to master. Although the popularity of smart phones is not short, Lao Ding did not ask his son to help buy one until last year. As the captain of the service team, he often has to contact more than 30 elderly volunteers and call them one by one or come to the door to communicate, which is somewhat troublesome. Hearing that WeChat can create group notifications, he wants to try it.
I bought the phone, but it's not that simple to use. Open the program, type the content of the notification into text, click to send... After the children demonstrated over and over again, Lao Ding finally remembered. Actually, the effect is not ideal. It turned out that some team members did not have WeChat at all, so they had to use the old method.
When he first used his smartphone, Lao Ding also had a lot of "fashionable" ideas-buying things, taking the bus, paying water, electricity and gas bills, all of which can be solved with a mobile phone. As a result, an operation "bluffed" him back.
"I saw that there was a red envelope on my phone, and I clicked it. Unexpectedly, I had to enter my ID number and password." Lao Ding took a few steps and suddenly realized that it might be a scam, so he stopped quickly.
Ding Qiulin was originally worried that he would be restricted everywhere if he could not keep up with the intelligent age. After experiencing it, I found that society is still very friendly to the elderly. Although mobile payment is popular in community supermarkets, the cash is accepted correctly; when you go out to take the subway and bus, an elderly card is enough to pass.
Nowadays, Ding Qiulin grows flowers and plays with birds every day, reads books and magazines in the community bookstores, and occasionally video chats with his daughter in Guangzhou on a smart phone. Life is very comfortable.
Post-90s volunteer Luo Xu——
Become a year-end friendship with the old man
Our reporter Chen Yuanyuan
Luo Xu found that what the elderly need most is someone to accompany them to talk, "I am very satisfied to help the elderly ease their inner need for communication and companionship, and obtain spiritual comfort."
Young people teach the elderly to shop online. At first they were patient, but gradually became impatient after several repetitions. The scene that happened to himself and his mother 8 years ago made Luo Xu decide to join the "Sunset and Morning" charity organization to popularize Internet knowledge for the elderly.
Luo Xu's "students" range from 50 to 90 years old, and he is called uncle and aunt. Uncles and aunts are very enthusiastic and call him "Mr. Luo". Luo Xu met the elderly Wang Liying in the community computer class in Jimenli, Beijing.
Aunt Wang retired early due to poor health, and she always felt lonely at home. After learning to use QQ, Aunt Wang couldn't wait to add Luo Xu as a friend. "Why is the little person on your head so pretty?" Aunt Wang asked. Luo Xu smiled and replied: "Auntie, this is called QQ show, I'll change it for you." After going back and forth, the two became a new year friend, and they often commented and liked each other.
Aunt Wang sighed that the computer opened a new window in her life. She learned to use the Internet to chat and write web logs. "My heart suddenly opened up." The elderly who study together in the same class communicate with each other in class, help each other in life, and make many friends. Nearing "graduation", she used the techniques she learned to make an electronic album.
Luo Xu summarized a set of communication experience: teach the elderly to sit on the left when using mobile phones, so that they can operate with their right hands; slow down communication, repeat a sentence three or four times, so that the elderly can hear each word clearly... "Some old people like to edit photos with Meitu Xiuxiu, and some set their favorite music as mobile phone ringtones." Luo Xu said, hoping that they can live better in the Internet age and realize their upward spiritual pursuit.
Volunteer service also changed Luo Xu's life trajectory. Today, he is studying for a Ph.D. in scientific management and engineering at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and has developed science and technology from a hobby to a career direction. He found that what the elderly needed most was someone to speak with them. "Helping the elderly ease their inner needs for communication and companionship, let them feel respect and recognition, and obtain spiritual comfort, I am very satisfied." Luo Xu said.