Middle-aged and elderly people, get hooked on short videos but don’t lose yourself
【Hot Spot Observation】
Years ago, seeing their children holding their mobile phones all day, some elderly parents would be puzzled, and some would even reprimand them.
Nowadays, more and more middle-aged and elderly people are using smart phones and are obsessed with short videos.
In the information age, how to help middle-aged and elderly people correctly "touch the Internet" and sensibly face new forms of communication such as short videos have become important issues that we have to think about——
Some time ago, a "60-year-old female fan said that she was in love with Jin Dong" was on the hot search, causing a public outcry.
This female fan is from Jiangxi and is very obsessed with actor Jin Dong. She claims to be happy with "Jin Dong". "Jin Dong" not only showed her love, but also said that she would buy her a house with five to six hundred thousand.
In order to marry "Jin Dong", this nearly 60-year-old female fan gave up her family and ran away.
Coincidentally, as early as June this year, an 80-year-old grandmother from Shanghai flew to Beijing without telling her family to meet "Jin Dong".
What they call "Jin Dong" is actually a video account with Jin Dong's name and avatar on a short video platform. The video number performs "fake Jin Dong" by editing clips of Jin Dong's film and television works and matching male dubbing. A clumsy drama that asks fans for attention and likes.
This matter appeared on the hot search, and we couldn't help being surprised: It turns out that it is not only young people who are addicted to short videos, but many middle-aged and elderly people are also deeply involved.
Young people still have some discernment for online scams on short videos, but middle-aged and old people will stubbornly choose to "be fully committed."
In the information age, how to help middle-aged and elderly people correctly "touch the Internet" and sensibly face new information dissemination methods such as short videos have become important issues that we have to think about.
Middle-aged and elderly people are crazier than young people when they make short videos
"It used to be my parents nagging. Don’t always stare at the computer and mobile phone. Now it’s all the other way around. Mom and Dad can do a day at home by just watching a short video. They don’t do housework or go out for a walk, sometimes even until midnight. Don’t sleep.” Xiao Wang, who works in Beijing, replaced his parents with new smart phones during the Spring Festival this year. He wanted to make them better adapt to the Internet age, but found that his parents became addicted to short videos, which had seriously affected their daily lives.
There are not a few children who are troubled like Xiao Wang.
On Zhihu, there are many posts on topics such as “parents addicted to short videos”, and the children’s messages reveal deep concerns about the health and mental state of their parents.
For this reason, netizens also specifically defined such a group-"Parents who are addicted to short videos".
Indeed, as more and more middle-aged and elderly people touch the Internet, and the rapid decline of new forms of addictive content such as short videos, the length of time the middle-aged and elderly people use short videos has shown a straight upward trend.
According to the "Silver-haired Crowd Insight Report" released by Quest Mobile this year, as of May 2020, the number of active mobile device users of the "silver-haired group" over 50 in China has exceeded 100 million, and the growth rate is much higher than that of other age groups. An important source of increase for netizens.
This report shows that watching videos and listening to music have become the entertainment and relaxation methods for most silver-haired people. Among them, watching short videos is the main entertainment method for middle-aged and elderly people.
Therefore, short video apps are particularly prominent for middle-aged and elderly people. In May 2020 alone, the average monthly usage of Kuaishou, Watermelon Video, and Douyin for middle-aged and elderly people surveyed was about 800 minutes, 1000 minutes, and 1500 minutes, respectively. minute.
Why short videos can hook the hearts of middle-aged and elderly people
The short video captured a large number of middle-aged and elderly fans.
They "do not leave their hands", and all kinds of new operations such as small programs, live broadcasts, and online shopping are readily available, and they do not lose young people at all.
Why are middle-aged and elderly people so keen on short videos?
Professor Yu Guoming, executive dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, believes that some middle-aged and elderly people are addicted to short videos because they do not want to be left behind by the train of the times and technological development. They do not want to be the outcasts of the times. Therefore, they are concerned about Internet technology. There is a strong desire to master.
In addition, “Internet technology itself has intelligent algorithms, which can give certain calculations to users’ behaviors, so as to lock your needs and complete algorithmic push.” Yu Guoming told reporters that for a long time in the past, middle-aged and elderly people consumed Spiritual food is a kind of "nutritious meal" produced by traditional media. Therefore, when faced with intelligent push to meet individual needs, there is a lack of relevant experience. Therefore, it is easier to be immersed and addicted when receiving such information.
Compared with young people, the social life of middle-aged and elderly people is relatively simple, so it is easier to consume too much time on one channel or platform.
"Most middle-aged and elderly people have finished or are about to end their careers, so they will feel more sense of loss in terms of emotions and the pursuit of values in social life." Yu Guoming believes that the complex mood swings of middle-aged and elderly people are also easy to immerse. One of the reasons for the short video.
Statistics show that on a short video platform, the columns most frequently viewed by middle-aged and elderly people are: funny and happy categories, blessings, life and health coups, spiritual chicken soup, and positive energy.
Of course, there are also many packaged "short videos" related to health preservation, food safety and telecom fraud.
In the era of new media, the thinking of the elderly can hardly keep up with the fast-developing online world, and at the same time they lack the ability to analyze and distinguish the authenticity of information. Therefore, these "problem short videos" will be widely circulated among middle-aged and elderly people.
Provide more "warm menus" for "parents" who are addicted to short videos
"In the past, our education mainly focused on young people, but now that we emphasize technology leadership, technical training and assistance for middle-aged and elderly people will become a particularly important issue in future social development." Yu Guoming told reporters, If middle-aged and elderly people cannot share advanced technology, social imbalances will intensify, thereby objectively causing a social tear.
In the Internet world with complex information, the physical and mental health of middle-aged and elderly people should be given sufficient attention and protection. When helping them to set foot on the fast lane of the Internet, more "warm menus" should be provided.
For middle-aged and elderly people who are overly addicted to short videos, some netizens suggest that Internet platforms can launch a "middle-aged and elderly mode", just as the "youth mode" will protect young people, the "middle-aged and elderly mode" can also be used for a long time, Use eye health, video content and other aspects to protect and remind them to achieve the purpose of "anti-addiction".
On the one hand, many middle-aged and elderly people are addicted to low-quality short videos and marketing scams. On the other hand, there are also many elderly people who are not proficient in operating various smart devices. For example, during the epidemic this year, many middle-aged and elderly people were unable to use smartphones because they could not use smartphones. The presentation of the "health code" for epidemic prevention caused travel obstruction.
For this reason, many people appealed: "Please wait for those who are walking slowly." On October 23, the Ministry of Civil Affairs held a regular press conference for the fourth quarter of 2020 in Beijing. Li Banghua, deputy director of the Department of Elderly Services, said, At present, smart technology and information technology are changing with each passing day, making people's lives more and more convenient, but there are also problems that many elderly people do not have smart phones and are unfamiliar with the operation of smart devices.
In the next step, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will focus on the elderly and promote the solution of the smart technical difficulties encountered by the elderly in civil affairs services.
In addition, the reporter also learned that in order to help the elderly better access to the Internet, Internet platforms have also made corresponding efforts.
For example, Taobao once hired "Taobao senior user research specialists" over 60 years old with high salaries to experience the "family version" of hand-tao products from the perspective of middle-aged and elderly people; Tencent App has added the "Elderly Care" function; Huawei, Xiaomi, etc. have also launched The mobile phone's simple mode, elderly mode, and family guard mode can support zooming in icons and text, and voice screen reading, etc.; in addition, some mobile phones are also designed with a remote guard function, which allows the monitor to remotely delete spam messages and stop deception Payment etc.
In addition, Baidu, Meituan, and Ctrip have all launched voice search functions to facilitate middle-aged and elderly people who have difficulty typing.
In an era when the Internet has profoundly changed people’s lifestyles, whether it is those middle-aged and elderly people who have not been able to find the entrance to the intelligent era, or those middle-aged and elderly people who have been connected to the Internet but have not adapted to the rhythm, but are biased by harmful information, they all need We open the "warmth menu" for them, give them special care, and help them get out of the "lost" in the intelligent age.
(Our reporter Li Ruichen)