The "smarter the household appliances, the less they will use" makes the silver-haired people anxious

The operation is cumbersome, the elder mode is not practical, and the use process that is hard to remember is forgotten on a different page...

The "smarter the household appliances, the less they will use" makes the silver-haired people anxious

Reporter Zhou Ziyuan

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Although there are many functions, the operation is cumbersome, the remote control buttons are difficult to recognize, the manual font is too small to see clearly... "The smarter the more you can't use" is a problem faced by many elderly people when using smart home appliances. Experts believe that the prospects of the silver economy are promising, and the specific needs of elderly consumers should be respected, and the development of the home appliance industry should be actively promoted to adapt to aging.

"Young people don't like to watch it, middle-aged people don't have time to watch it, old people don't watch it, and children don't let them watch it." This description of television vividly illustrates its embarrassing situation in many families. Despite continuous updates and iterations, more and more intelligent, the trend of declining TV sales has not been reversed. Data show that in 2022, the retail sales volume of China's color TV market will be 3634.13 million units, falling to the lowest in nearly <> years.

Although there are many functions, the operation is cumbersome, there are many boot steps, the advertising is long, the remote control buttons are difficult for the elderly to recognize, the manual font is too small to see clearly... The reporter randomly interviewed some families, and many elderly people who "want to watch but can't watch" smart TV told reporters: "Today's TV, the smarter it is, the more I don't know how to use it." ”

Experts believe that as China's population continues to deepen, the prospects of the silver economy are promising. The specific needs of elderly consumers should be respected, and the development of the home appliance industry should be actively promoted.

Elderly people "stuck" by smart TVs

"Post-80s" Zhou Zhengjie currently lives with his parents, and every day before going to work, he will turn on the TV and adjust the channel to watch. "If I forget to open it, parents are sometimes able to find the show they want to watch, but most of the time they don't know which software to open after looking for half a day." Seeing that his parents often have to shut down and restart because they can't find the shows they want to watch, he prefers to do more by himself.

"Today's smart TVs are equipped with two or three remote controls, and I often take it wrong and find that I can't change the console to another remote control. When I open an unfamiliar page, I dare not operate. Zhou Zhengjie's father told reporters that today's TV display pages are complex, the system is often updated and changed, and the use process that is hard to remember is forgotten to change the page.

There are many elderly people who are "trapped" by Smart TVs. According to the "2022 Domestic Market Aging TV Survey Report" released by State Grid of China, nearly half of users said that they could not directly reach the TV programs they wanted to watch after booting; 28% do not know how to switch between set-top boxes and TV stations; Another 17.6% did not know which one to use because there were too many remote controls.

"Using the search function of the TV, I often time out before I finish pressing the key, and I need to re-enter it, and I have to try several times as a young person to succeed." Wu Tao, who lives in Tianjin, complained to smart TVs on social platforms, "The current TV system requires the download of various playback software, and it is easy to run out of memory, and it is obviously stuck after three or four years of use." There are also more and more advertising pop-up screens, which may also cause people to fall into the consumer trap due to misoperation, which is very unfriendly to silver-haired people. ”

"Smart" is supposed to make life easier

During the Spring Festival this year, Liu Yiran, who works in Beijing, returned to her hometown in Hunan and saw that the old TV at home for decades often flashed, and the old man had to sit close to see the font on the screen, so he bought a new TV for his home. But when she recently video called her grandfather, she found that no one watched the new TV.

"When installing, I told the old man how to turn on the machine and adjust the platform, and then my grandfather asked me several times, and he himself also studied according to the manual, but each time the more he used it, the more angry he became." Liu Yiran said disappointedly, "Changing the TV was originally to make it more convenient for the elderly to use, and deliberately chose a smart TV with a large screen font and voice control, but it is obvious that grandpa cannot adapt to the different operation of the TV." ”

In the past, the operation of the TV set was very simple, open the direct access to the TV channel, just use the remote control to switch channels, adjust the volume, you can switch to your favorite programs at will, many elderly people are more accustomed to this simple and easy to use operation.

Nowadays, while TV business operators provide more functions and services, there are more and more advertising pop-up screens, and the learning threshold of smart TVs is getting higher and higher. The standard of "smart" was originally very simple, that is, to make life more convenient, but searching for "smart TV" on the Internet, almost all the related words that pop up are "how to use".

Not only smart TVs, but also fully automatic washing machines, intensive microwave ovens and other household appliances are saying goodbye to the traditional "open and use" and "one-key start" and other ways one by one, and more functions bring more complex use methods.

Beijing Madianqiao Dazhong Electric TV salesman told reporters: "Nowadays, most smart TVs have an elder mode, and the fonts and functions will be more adapted to the needs of the elderly after opening, and you can set up to directly open the live broadcast function, or you can turn off some ads." ”

But in practice, the elder mode does not seem to work. "Although fonts and modules will become larger and clearer, TVs, as appliances that are used frequently in the common home, often need to turn off the elder mode, and it is also troublesome to turn it on and off every time." Wu Tao said.

Promote the aging development of the home appliance industry

"The elderly may deteriorate their physical functions, decline in physical strength or even have difficulty moving, reduce their awareness of society, and cannot follow the development of science and technology, but household appliances are increasingly showing the characteristics of high technology, informatization and intelligence, resulting in unfriendly phenomena for the elderly, which is worthy of attention." Su Haopeng, professor of the Law School of the University of International Business and Economics and director of the Consumer Protection Law Research Center, told reporters.

On April 4, Ebang Think Tank released the "Walking with the Old: 18 Silver Consumption Trend Insight Report" showing that with the acceleration of the aging of Chinese society, the silver economy has become a new "sunrise market" with promising prospects. In view of the living habits and physiological characteristics of the elderly, convenience, safety, functionality and health have become the four mainstream directions for the selling points of home appliances suitable for the elderly.

Relevant experts said that the special needs of the elderly when using household appliances are mainly manifested in the fact that product introductions and instructions need to be concise and easy to understand; Try to be the whole machine, no need to install or simple installation, easy to operate; The elderly have reduced demand for product functions, so electrical functions should be simplified as much as possible without too many functions; Long warranty time, few failures, low repair rate; Merchants can come to the door to engage in after-sales service, etc.

"Businesses should launch differentiated products according to the age, knowledge, physical and mental status of different consumer groups. For elderly consumers, it is necessary to introduce electrical appliances that are easy to operate, safe and reliable, have a long use time and have fewer functions. Su Haopeng stressed that this does not mean a regression in social development, but is precisely a manifestation of social progress, because this development model respects human nature, respects the specific needs of elderly consumers, and reflects the society's care and protection for the elderly.

Su Haopeng suggested that the relevant competent departments should actively promote the aging development of the home appliance industry and formulate corresponding social and industrial policies. Support manufacturers and professional institutions to work together to carry out special research and design on age-appropriate household appliances, and launch home appliances that meet the actual needs of elderly consumers, so that they can not only bring profits to manufacturers, but also improve the lives of the elderly. (Daily Worker)