Some people are addicted to short video shopping and keep "buying, buying, buying" Some people fall into the "information cocoon", resulting in negative emotions...

The short videos of the elderly can't stop watching, and it's the turn of the children to be anxious

Once upon a time, teenagers were overly online to make parents anxious; Nowadays, the elderly are also starting to worry their children about excessive Internet use. A few days ago, the reporter learned from an interview that there are more and more elderly people using short video platforms, except for a very small number of elderly people who are addicted to rewarding large amounts of money, many elderly people are accurately "grasped" by big data and fall into the "information cocoon"; There are also people who are addicted to short video shopping, overspending, and sometimes encounter various tricky problems such as refunds and after-sales.

Some social workers and psychological counselors said that the algorithm recommendation of the short video platform to understand the preferences of the elderly, and constantly push it in a targeted manner, will continue to strengthen the cognition in the minds of the elderly, once the negative information is received, it will increase the anxiety of the elderly, and it is recommended that the elderly participate in real social interactions more and reduce their dependence on the Internet.

Text/Guangzhou Daily All Media Reporter Yang Xin

Near noon, Ms. Tian, who was working, was interrupted by the sound of WeChat message notifications. She took her mobile phone and saw that it was a short video sent by her 85-year-old mother, with a big red caption on it: "Tell your children to be careful when walking..."

"I now find that excessive watching of short videos not only affects the health of the elderly, but also increases their anxiety." Ms. Tian told reporters that her parents are over 80 years old and in good health, and they also go out to exercise and socialize on weekdays, but the problem of the elderly watching videos has been bothering her.

"Of course, there is nothing wrong with the old man watching videos when he has nothing to do, but if it takes too long, and he watches the same type of content over and over again, he will be brainwashed." Ms. Tian said that for a while, her mother kept sending videos about the safety of teenagers in the family WeChat group. Later, she began to receive phone calls from her mother, who worriedly asked her grandson and granddaughter about their daily schooling, including how far they traveled, what kind of car they took, whether the walking section was in the downtown area after getting off the bus, and how long the walk was. Ms. Tian patiently answered the old man's inquiry, but the old man still couldn't let go, and kept saying, "You must let them be careful, there are dangers everywhere now..." After secretly checking her mother's short video browsing history, Ms. Tian discovered the problem.

"During that time, most of the videos that the old people watched were about student safety." Ms. Tian knows that the platform will recommend relevant videos according to everyone's preferences, "Push today, push tomorrow, and constantly push the same type of video, if it is a negative video, it will make the elderly anxious." ”

Mr. Zhang, a citizen who lives in Baiyun District, also had this experience. He told reporters that since the news of the Myanmar Electric Fraud Industrial Park was reported by major platforms some time ago, he found that almost all the videos transferred by his parents were related to him, and after being processed and rendered by the media, one by one was more shocking than the other.

A social worker said: "People who have watched short videos will have the impression that once they start, they can't stop, which is not just a lack of willpower, because the short video background will judge the user's preferences according to factors such as the type of video that the user has swiped, the length of time they stay, etc., and further make accurate recommendations to firmly lock the user's attention." ”

The above-mentioned social worker said that the words "always", "and" and "again" that the elderly often see in their eyes are largely the illusion caused by big data.

In recent years, live streaming has become popular, and some elderly people are also hooked on shopping in the live broadcast room. However, due to the fact that the elderly are older, their discernment and memory have declined, and they are often "pitted" in online shopping.

"Post-00s" Shen Wen (pseudonym) told reporters that since helping her mother learn to shop online, her mother has been out of control, and Douyin, video number, and even Xiaohongshu have become its shopping platforms.

Shen Wen's mother, who is in her 70s this year, started by just buying food, and later developed into buying clothes and daily necessities. Once, Shen Wen found that there was a box of half-rotten potatoes at home, which was originally hoarded by her mother in order to buy them, which made her cry and laugh.

What worries Shen Wen the most is that the old people often spend "confused" money. "There are various platform links in the old man's WeChat group, often click aimlessly when they see a video, follow the push rhythm 'buy, buy, buy', after an operation, they have forgotten which platform they bought it on!" She said that on two occasions, her mother anxiously told her that the goods were not right and wanted to return them, but Shen Wen searched for a long time and could not find her order.

Mr. Ng, a citizen, has similar problems. Recently, he found that there were many jade, calligraphy and paintings, and ceramic vases stacked in his home, and his mother said happily that these were "famous paintings" and "antiques" that she bought in the live broadcast room. "My mother said that these things are worth millions of yuan, and if something happened to the boss's family, he only dealt with them at a low price for a few hundred yuan." Mr. Wu couldn't stop laughing or crying when he heard this. He found that his mother had spent more than 10,000 yuan on these "famous paintings" and "antiques". "There is neither an authoritative endorsement nor certification, and these fake paintings and fake antiques have paid so much money to the elderly." Mr. Wu said helplessly.

Counsellor Tips:

Let the elderly try the toys that strengthen the brain

Encourage them to participate in authentic social interactions

There is also such a view, for most elderly people, brushing short videos can make up for loneliness and loneliness. This year's 85-year-old Aunt Li used to be the director of the obstetrics and gynecology department, and her health is quite healthy, but she always feels that "I am useless, and my children don't need me", and she lives by swiping her mobile phone every day, "I only need to look at my mobile phone, I can know what is going on in the world, and I can share useful videos with relatives and friends, which makes me feel that I am still valuable." Aunt Li said.

Zhang Ziwen (pseudonym), a national third-level psychological counselor, believes that the hope of eliminating loneliness is only one of the reasons why the elderly are addicted to watching videos. With the aging of physical functions, people's emotional control and self-control ability become poorer, and they are more likely to be paranoid.

"There are actually advantages and disadvantages to surfing videos on the Internet, wonderful network information is conducive to the elderly to broaden the depth and breadth of participation in society, but if you are overly immersed in short videos and led by the accurate push of big data, these short videos will make the elderly more anxious the more they watch."

"Why are people's little days so wonderful? Why are other people's grandchildren so promising... Massive information and mature algorithms make short videos as good as they can be, and different forms of expression all convey the same social anxiety. Zhang Ziwen said.

Zhang Ziwen also has an elderly family, and she bought her parents all kinds of brain-strengthening toys to encourage the elderly couple to take their attention away from their mobile phones. "In the case of not being able to accompany the elderly, we can also use tools to help the elderly experience different fun." She also said that children can help the elderly enable healthy mode on their mobile phones, limit screen time and reduce the frequency of mobile phone use.

Many psychological counselors also suggest that the elderly cultivate a variety of hobbies, socialize more with others, especially participate in the community and neighborhood socialization, strive to find fun in real life, and reduce dependence on the Internet.

Guangzhou Daily, October 2023, 10, page A26