Online shopping for health products, all-night karaoke: After crossing the digital divide, the elderly fall into digital addiction
According to the "2020 Elderly Internet Life Report", more than 100,000 elderly people are online for more than 10 hours a day.
Elderly users aged 60 and above spend more than one hour on the Internet per day, and log in to the APP 5 times a day on average, which is higher than users of other age groups.
The "Silver-haired Crowd Insight Report" shows that short videos have become the most important form of entertainment for elderly netizens. On the mainstream short video platform represented by Douyin, the average online time per person per month for the elderly can reach 1,500 minutes.
After learning to use the mobile Internet and crossing the "digital divide", many elderly people have fallen into "digital addiction", which plagues many families.
Too lazy to walk, lie down and swipe the phone
The algorithm design with insight into human nature, the red envelope rewards of small favors and small favors, and the help of drawing big pie-like cashback... In the face of these irresistible temptations, the team of "Internet addiction elderly" is also growing.
Li Congbin's father was an old cadre of a state-owned enterprise before he retired, and is now an experienced user of a short video platform.
"The platform is like it. The recommended video seems to be unable to brush my head. I sit on the sofa every afternoon for an afternoon." Li Congbin thinks that his father is addicted. "I don't like ballroom dancing anymore. Sitting in one position for too long at a time, when he got up, he fell and fell. The whole family was terrified and forced him to lie down more. As a result, he lay down and continued to swipe his phone."
Boxes of cheap toilet paper, a lot of trousers worth more than ten yuan... Liu Danning, who came home for the holidays, found that the room was full of trophies that his mother had snapped up from the Internet.
"I work overtime until midnight, and my mom buys online until midnight. Sometimes at two in the morning, she still sends me group buying messages. The family group is full of her bargaining links." What puzzles Liu Danning is that her mother has been frugal all her life, how can she start going online? He changed his personality and put up a bunch of things that I can't use and can't finish eating.
Tang Dan, an associate professor at the Center for Population and Development Studies of Renmin University of China, analyzed that after the elderly retired, their leisure time suddenly increased, and their social status changed from a decision maker to a subordinate. The children were unable to bear the feeling of emptiness under the knees, which made them turn online. Seek solace.
Compared with young people who grew up in the Internet age, they are more curious about the Internet and more likely to fall into it.
Xie Tian, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the School of Philosophy, Wuhan University, believes that the emergence of "Internet addiction elderly" should be viewed dialectically.
On the one hand, a secure old age creates consumer demand.
With technological advancement, material abundance, and the continuous extension of life expectancy, more elderly people have time and energy to surf the Internet.
On the other hand, a considerable number of post-50s and post-60s were busy raising their families when they were young, their hobbies were not developed, and their entertainment methods were monotonous in their later years, and surfing the Internet became the best choice to kill time.
After drinking for half a year, I drank kidney stones
Talking about the "Internet addiction elderly" at home, Liu Danning feels complicated, "I hope that they will read anecdotes on the Internet, learn to cook and sing, and their retirement life will not be so boring. Also, I am afraid that too long online time is harmful to health and the information is mixed. It’s easy to be deceived, and it’s sad.” The flashing light and shadow will continue to irritate the eyes, leading to decreased vision, dry eye, glaucoma and other eye diseases.
In addition, sitting for a long time can induce or aggravate cervical spondylosis and frozen shoulder, and staying up late will cause a burden on the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular.
Many young people find that some old people are easy to listen to and spread false information on the Internet, and all kinds of "shocked body" articles flood the family group.
Li Congbin concluded that his father’s circle of friends loves to forward three types of articles: health-preserving pseudo-science, emotional and moral spiritual chicken soup, and the headline party with experts as gimmicks.
The high school teacher Zhang Haowen was very worried and could do nothing. "My mother read the health article, took a large coke bottle and drank alkaline water, and forced us to drink it, but after drinking it for more than half a year, it was found that both kidney stones were found."
In addition, the elderly have poor awareness of prevention and are often targeted by online fraud gangs.
According to relevant media reports, from falsely claiming that the company is going to sell its "original shares", to the need to keep recruiting people in the financial management class, to participating in the national project dividend scam, the fraudulent methods are constantly being renovated. The old people wanted to make a small amount of money, but let Most of his life's savings have been wiped out.
According to the "Anti-fraud White Paper for Middle-aged and Elderly People" released by Tencent 110 platform, in the first half of 2019, the platform received more than 20,000 reports of defrauding middle-aged and elderly people, and 97% of those who were deceived had suffered financial losses.
"Compared with actively creating and publishing content, the elderly are mostly browsing information online, which is a passive network use." Tang Dan said that due to the relative lack of digital media literacy, the elderly are prone to deviations when screening passively received information.
Xie Tian feels that the elderly may not be ignorant when they were deceived.
"The interaction in online communication gives them a sense of belonging and fills up the emotional vacancy. Some'willingly' enter the trap."
Kung fu is outside the net, always have fun
The 48th "Statistical Report on the Development of the Internet in China" shows that as of June 2021, my country's elderly Internet users over 60 accounted for 12.2% of the total number of Internet users, and the growth rate was much higher than that of the whole, becoming a user group that cannot be ignored in the Internet era.
The elderly are accelerating their embrace of digital life. How to guide them to surf the Internet in a reasonable and appropriate manner and build a more suitable network environment for the elderly?
Tang Dan pointed out that in the process of adapting to aging, all business entities should focus on the quality of network information presentation in addition to simple interface and convenient operation, and do their duty to remind suspicious advertisements and bad information.
Platform companies should take their responsibilities and be committed to creating a stage suitable for the elderly to show themselves and realize their value. They should not add addictive elements to web design in order to grab attention.
Where do you go after you get out of "Internet addiction"?
Zhang Haowen feels that the city is full of tall buildings, and there are very limited places for the elderly to relax.
In this regard, Xie Tian believes that in order to achieve the transition from "the elderly have a sense of security" to "the elderly have a sense of happiness", it is necessary to provide richer and meaningful life choices, "building urban living rooms, parks and other open spaces, theaters, music Cultural facilities such as government offices provide preferential treatment to the elderly. In addition, the elderly schools and volunteer teams organized by the community are also very popular with the elderly. When the spiritual life needs are met, the temptation of the Internet will decrease."
For many empty nesters, behind the internet addiction is helplessness and loneliness.
Tang Dan thinks that if children want to help their parents quit internet addiction, trying to understand is the first step. "We have too many stereotypes about the elderly, thinking that old age should be playing cards and drinking tea. In fact, young people love the way of life. Elderly people can also choose. Children help parents raise awareness of online prevention, share high-quality content with them, and encourage them to use the Internet to record their lives."
"The root cause of online behavior may be fear." Xie Tian said, "The elderly frequently forward health articles because they realize that death is approaching; they will fall into the trap of investment and financial management, and they want to make the disease more secure. At this time, the family members. It shouldn’t be about cutting off broadband and restricting Internet access, but to talk frankly about death with them, to learn about financial knowledge, to face problems head-on, and to resolve confusion from the source."
Chen Xi/Worker's Daily