Difficulty in payment, difficulty in seeing a doctor, and increased loneliness——
Who helped the elderly to cross the "digital divide"?
Scanning codes to order meals, online registration, online ticket purchases, online car-hailing trips... In the era of mobile Internet, life is becoming more and more convenient, and at the same time, embarrassing scenes such as not receiving cash, not being able to use the bus, and not being able to take the bus without a health code often occur .
And it is the group of people who most need the convenience of society: the elderly who often feel this embarrassment.
New technologies are emerging in an endless stream. Intelligence and digitization make society operate more efficiently, but it also brings an insurmountable "digital divide" to many elderly people.
How to adapt to the elderly and who will help them is a question that must be solved before the society.
No smart phone is more difficult
"Next time I buy the tickets, let me watch and teach me."
Xiao Zhou couldn't count how many times he heard this sentence, but he always "left ear in and right ear out", and just forgot it when it came time to operate it.
Xiao Zhou told reporters that the retired mother wanted to learn to buy tickets from her mobile phone.
He knew that his mother was not afraid to trouble herself and move her fingers. More importantly, she was novel about the convenience brought by the mobile phone network. She wanted to keep up with the pace of young people and didn't want to be abandoned by the times.
In fact, Xiao Zhou is not unfamiliar. It's just that his mother learns slowly and forgets quickly. Enter the station, select the date, check the train number, select the seat, and pay. You can do it in one minute. You have to teach it several times. All kinds of questions can pop up, how to go back to the previous step, where to re-select the date... He thought the interface was clear and easy to operate, but with the old and dizzy mother, every step was full of obstacles.
When mobile phone software becomes the main ticket purchase channel and paper tickets are gradually cancelled, for the elderly, this means a near-new era has quietly arrived: not only online ticket purchases, non-cash payment, scan code ordering, online Registered, online car-hailing travel... In the era of mobile Internet, it is almost impossible to move without a smartphone.
This kind of helplessness is even more common in hospitals where the elderly get together: "I only know when I come, I have to make an appointment to see a doctor. I rushed the bus early in the morning, and I couldn't even hang up the number." Wei, Qingdao Central Hospital, Shandong Province The husband and wife looked at a loss.
"My wife has a gastrointestinal problem. I came over in the morning and wanted to find an expert. I only found out when I asked. The expert number is already full," Mr. Wei said.
The hospital staff told reporters that patients can make an appointment for registration through the on-site self-service machine, phone, WeChat or "Huiyi" APP. If there is no appointment, the ordinary number may not be able to be registered.
This situation does not only happen in Qingdao.
In Jinan, Shandong, citizen Li Auntie went to the Municipal Stomatological Hospital for medical treatment, but because he was not using a smart phone, it was impossible to register; from this year, the director and deputy director numbers of many hospitals in Tianjin must make appointments...
In the lobby of these hospitals, most of them will post mobile phone appointment appointments in eye-catching locations. You can make appointments by downloading the APP or following the relevant WeChat official account. However, the staff at the consultation desk are still full of doubtful elderly people, and the elderly are also Similar questions kept repeating.
Most of the elderly who have an appointment are helped by children, and most of them are like Mr. Wei and his wife. They want to come to the hospital early and queue up for registration.
"For the elderly, the decline in learning ability leads to a relatively low possibility of using smartphones, and it is difficult to make appointments with smartphones. The elderly are just regular visitors to the hospital." said Lu Jiehua, a professor in the Department of Sociology at Peking University.
The medical system is becoming more and more advanced and intelligent. Hospitals want to reduce the waiting time for patients. However, many elderly people have not been able to enjoy the benefits of intelligence, and sometimes seem at a loss.
The "Statistical Report on China's Internet Development Status" shows that as of March 2020, the number of Internet users in my country has reached 904 million, and the Internet penetration rate has reached 64.5%, but the proportion of Internet users aged 60 and above is only 6.7%.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2019, the proportion of the population aged 60 and above is about 18.1%.
It is estimated from these two data that hundreds of millions of elderly people have not been able to catch the informatization express in time.
Old people become Internet "refugees"
"Compared with traditional ways of surfing the Internet, the mobile Internet has the characteristics of convenience and timeliness, and has a greater impact on life. The spread and use of mobile Internet show obvious intergenerational differences, and the penetration rate of the elderly is much lower than Young and middle-aged groups. Today’s young people are the “indigenous people” of the Internet, while the elderly are the “immigrants” of the Internet, especially the mobile Internet era. They need to adapt to new technologies. However, due to relatively poor learning and understanding skills, some Elderly people who cannot adapt to the new environment will become "refugees" of the mobile Internet." Lu Jiehua said that smart phones are indispensable for eating, buying tickets, and traveling. There are discounts but not cash payments, which is also an inequality to some extent."
The elderly who cannot adapt to the era of mobile Internet not only face many inconveniences, but the "digital divide" also isolates the spiritual world of some elderly people from the young and middle-aged groups.
At about 3 pm, at Baijiazhuang Primary School, Nansanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, crowds waiting for children stood at the door.
One of the elderly people caught the reporter's attention: He squatted on the side of the road and looked at the passing cars and pedestrians. The little grandson was standing beside him with his mobile phone and paddling intently on the screen. The two were silent.
"Uncle, why don't you go home after picking up the child?"
"There is one more!"
Looking at the little grandson next to him without looking up, the old man gradually opened the chatterbox and told the reporter his helplessness.
He usually cooks and shuttles to and from school. He spends a lot of time with his grandson, but he doesn't talk much.
As soon as school is over, the grandson takes out his mobile phone and doesn’t know what he’s messing up with, and his son is no exception.
"After a busy day, I wanted to talk to the children, but they always talked to their phones when they came back."
He also wanted to learn it himself. He was curious about the huge world hidden under the small screen, but he was a little too powerless. He only learned some simple operations. When the processes such as mobile payment and bicycle sharing are slightly more complicated, he can only stare.
Relevant people believe that in the mobile Internet society, the elderly who lack the right to speak and learn have become vulnerable groups in a sense.
Even in the family, there is a vague risk of being marginalized.
Lu Jiehua pointed out that the development of the mobile Internet has to a certain extent led to a change in the mode of social interaction and a reduction in the frequency of face-to-face communication, which will bring some negative effects on the spirit of the elderly.
My sons and daughters often persuade 67-year-old Wang Yuemei not to run to the market when it's hot, just place an order with a mobile phone.
But she said: "Sometimes it's really lonely. It's a pastime to go out to visit the supermarket and the food market, and line up. Sometimes it's good to meet old acquaintances and chat together!"
Even if you successfully get on the express train of the mobile Internet era, the elderly who have more free time, weak recognition ability, and insufficient knowledge of network security are also vulnerable to Internet fraud. Especially for the elderly with independent financial ability, the consequences of Internet fraud are more serious. .
Multi-directional efforts to cross the gap
However, there are also many elderly people who embrace smart phones and enjoy themselves in the mobile Internet world.
The old man Jiang Minci with over 370,000 fans on station B, the "fashionable grandma group" with 2.6 million likes and nearly 100,000 comments in just 15 seconds of video on Douyin, and more proficient use of voice chat and mobile payment Of the elderly have a great time in the "view" world of the mobile phone screen.
"Grandpa and grandma, I scored 100 in the test, and the teacher praised me again!" The young grandson's immature face and excited words came from the phone screen.
"Okay, keep working hard!" Old man Lu smiled happily.
The grandson lived with them since he was a child, and his relationship is very deep.
From the age of 6, the little grandson left his rural home in Pingshan, Hebei, and went to school in the city with his parents.
Grandparents can’t meet often, so my son installs broadband at home, buys smartphones, helps register WeChat, teaches how to add friends, make voice calls, and video chat... Now, as soon as the grandson is over from school, the old couple pick it up. Cell phone, waiting to connect with the child.
As a "national-level" application, as of September 2018, WeChat users aged 55 to 70 have reached 61 million.
"If you miss your child, you will send a WeChat message, and you will return to me when he is free. Calling is afraid of interrupting his work." Elderly parents are trying to keep up with the thinking and behavior habits of young people and embrace new ways of socializing.
However, this is not an easy task.
Tan Dingliang, director of the Institute of Educational Psychology at Nanjing Normal University, said that in addition to public services for the elderly, intergenerational support and "cultural backfeeding" in the family are also extremely important.
No matter how simple the operation is for young people, it may be a mountain in the eyes of old people.
To integrate parents into the mobile Internet era, in addition to buying "hard core" products, they must also have enough patience.
Recently, a girl in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, made a "WeChat" manual in order to teach her grandmother to use WeChat.
The manual is neatly written, detailed in content, and rich in pictures and texts. Grandma can operate it by herself when no one is in the house.
In the past two years, Xiao Zhou also helped to register an account and taught his mother how to use Alipay. Now his mother often goes out with only a mobile phone and shopping bag.
The ease of use of mobile phone software commonly used by the elderly is also improving.
For example, Alipay launched the "Care Version" small program, which integrates the most commonly used functions of elderly users, such as scanning codes, paying, paying utility bills, and registering for medical consultation. The fonts are eye-catching and easy to use.
As early as 2016, the Shiyuan West Campus of Beijing Shunyi University for the Elderly opened a mobile phone class at the request of students. It immediately became the most popular course, and many elderly people came here without any hesitation.
From installing mobile apps to scanning codes and ordering meals, from online ticket purchases to preventing online fraud, the "silver-haired people" are fascinated by learning.
There must be stairs when repairing elevators and candles when installing electric lights.
Lu Jiehua said that to help the elderly better adapt to life in the mobile Internet era, in addition to paying more attention to their needs and habits in technological development, in terms of public policy formulation and public services, it provides multiple choices and alternatives to the elderly who cannot use smartphones. Program.
The reporter visited and investigated and found that in Beijing, for some places frequently visited by the elderly, such as supermarkets, hospitals, etc., if there is no smart phone, it is impossible to scan the QR code to register health information. You can register your ID card, phone number, address and other information with the help of staff If someone is traveling with you, you can also ask others to scan the code.
It is estimated that by 2025, there will be about 300 million elderly people over 60 in China.
In the fast-developing mobile Internet era, the faltering elderly have the right to "slow".
In addition to helping the elderly integrate into the mobile Internet world, we must also accept the fact that they are getting old and provide alternative solutions in addition to the mobile Internet method.
Reporter Kang Pu