Strengthen assistance, guide and introduce convenient measures
Let the elderly better integrate into digital life (consumption kaleidoscope)
Reporter Luo Shanshan
"People's Daily" (19th edition on November 04, 2020)
"In the past, I only used WeChat to chat, and I didn't understand online shopping or scan code payment. Now I have learned it. It's very convenient. You don't need to always trouble the children." Zhang Hua, a resident of Chaoyang District, Beijing, told reporters with a smile.
Voice chat, video call, online shopping, forwarding and sharing... The development of Internet technology has allowed people to gradually enter digital life, and the elderly are no exception.
According to the data from the China Internet Network Information Center's two surveys in March and June 2020, only three months later, the proportion of elderly Internet users aged 60 and above in the total Internet users rose from 6.7% to 10.3%.
The "Elderly Digital Life Report" released by Alibaba shows that during the epidemic prevention and control period, my country's elderly people over 60 have accelerated their adaptation to digital life. In the third quarter, the average monthly activity of elderly people using mobile phone Taobao APP increased at a much faster rate than other ages. Segment, 29.7 percentage points higher than the overall level.
The Internet and smart phones have brought convenience to the elderly, but some elderly people still have difficulties in using them.
How to help the elderly get rid of the "digital dilemma" so that they can embrace digital life more smoothly?
The relevant person in charge of the Ali Research Institute believes that the top priority is to provide high-quality and convenient digital services for the elderly. This requires the joint efforts of government departments, society, and families to explore the establishment of a safe and eye-catching, friendly and convenient, shared and mutual-aid aging and friendly digital environment.
In order to better integrate the elderly into digital life, various localities have introduced corresponding measures.
Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province actively implements the "Smart Helping the Elderly" special action, and strives to solve the problem of elderly people who do not use smart phones; Hainan launched the "Respect for the Aged Month" campaign to provide the elderly with training services such as smart phone use and telecommunication fraud prevention; in Hubei , The Aging Industry Association will organize volunteers to hold 1,000 smart phone use trainings across the province...
For some Internet platforms, efforts must be made to build a more inclusive digital ecosystem.
Pay more attention to the needs and habits of the elderly in application development, such as the development of a special mobile phone APP for the elderly, which retains basic functions and is simple to operate, making it convenient and quick for the elderly to use.
Experts said that on the one hand, it is necessary to promote the implementation of various digital convenience measures, and on the other hand, it is necessary to provide "non-digital" alternatives to leave traditional channels for the elderly who do not know the Internet.