The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has launched digital aging, and in doing so, it aims to enable the elderly to enjoy the convenience of technological development, making it possible to eliminate the digital divide. Young people are born in the age of various digital technologies and devices. They naturally follow the latest information with their cell phones and use various social software to easily take a taxi, shop, make reservations, register and make payments. Older people are barely following in the footsteps of the young,and are becoming digital refugees due to economic, social, cultural and other reasons that keep them away from digital culture.
The goal is to get older people to use new devices. China has one of the fastest aging populations in the world. There is a vast majority of elderly people who are not proficient in using the Internet. Due to lack of skills, limited education and inadequate equipment, more and more older people, even some middle-aged people, have been or are being left behind by the digital and smart world. Generally speaking, as people grow older, their ability to accept and respond to new things has declined to varying degrees. Many cell phone operations familiar to younger people are quite difficult for older people. The existence of many redundant functions also affects the user experience of older people on the mobile Internet to some extent. Some activities actually involve a variety of complex inputs, confirmations, logos, and other links. Some young and middle-aged people who use cell phones frequently need to bear a lot of trouble, not to mention the elderly who are not skilled in using smartphones.
This will allow older people to be better integrated into society. The 2020 epidemic also highlights the fact that older people are not keeping up with the times. Because of the need for epidemics, health codes and contactless transactions are forcing older people to change their primitive ways of receiving information and using information technology in order to adapt more quickly to digital life. From an older person's perspective, digital life is sometimes not as essential and the level of skills in using digital media sometimes does not reflect the level of digital integration of older people. It is only by thinking from an older person's perspective and looking up that the differences between younger and older people can be better identified. This kind of thinking without value judgments is the most important thing that can be done to study the future of older people's issues.
It is not enough for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to act, it is necessary for our **** to work together, so that the elderly can take care of the skilled application of cell phones and other new products of the Internet era. We should help them embrace digital life as soon as possible. First, encourage learning. Encourage the elderly to use smart phones, actively try some simple mobile applications, in addition to using cell phones for communication and access to information, but also try to watch videos, mobile payment, mobile navigation, cab services and other convenient services.