By 2025, the number of elderly people aged 60 and above in mainland China is expected to reach 300 million, accounting for more than 20% of the total population. With the increasingly prominent problem of aging, the transformation of society for the elderly is becoming an important task.
At the same time, with the rapid development of information technology, in the face of new digital products, more and more elderly people have the trouble of "not daring to use" and "not using well". How to solve the problem? All parties are working together to promote the steady improvement of the level of digital technology for the elderly.
Nowadays, with the popularization of the Internet and digital technology, intelligent operation has become the "standard" for most life scenarios, from living expenses, medical treatment, transportation, dining and entertainment. However, the increasingly digital life has brought a lot of troubles to some elderly people, and even become an insurmountable "digital divide".
How to meet the growing needs of the elderly for a better life and let them enjoy the dividends of digital development?
Development –
New applications and new scenarios are constantly emerging, serving the needs of the elderly in multiple ways
"Xiaodu, turn on the TV. As soon as the words ended, the TV set started and began to play the TV series. Smart screens, voice-controlled light strips, fall detection devices...... In Yangcun Street, Wuqing District, Tianjin, new technology products have created a new type of smart elderly care community.
"For example, the stickman camera transforms the image of the human body into the image of the stickman, which not only protects privacy, but also predicts whether the elderly have a stroke or fall risk in time through the pace state. Shi Nan, general manager of the Tianjin branch of Chengdu Quanshi Cloud Information Technology Co., Ltd., which undertook the construction of the Yangcun Street Smart Pension Station project, said that when the fall was detected, the system would alarm the community platform as soon as possible and send a message to notify the family. Since November 2021, the company has successively installed IoT smart elderly care equipment and provided professional elderly care services for more than 3,200 households over 60 years old in the street.
Xiaomi, Honor, Konka, Huawei, Skyworth and other manufacturers of a number of TV products have passed the age-appropriate certification; Gree released a series of air conditioners with simpler remote control button arrangement and larger fonts; Panasonic launched products including smart electric beds, folding shower chairs and other daily life and living travel products for the elderly...... In recent years, a number of new products and applications developed around the actual needs of the elderly have been emerging.
In June last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Health Commission, issued the "Smart Health Care Products and Services Promotion Catalogue (2022 Edition)", selecting 79 products and services to promote typical products and services. Previously, it also guided the formulation of the "Technical Requirements for the Aging of Mobile Terminals" and "Technical Requirements for the Design of Smart TVs for the Elderly", etc., to guide enterprises to scientifically and accurately develop electronic products suitable for the elderly.
"On this basis, we are organizing the formulation of industry standards such as audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment for ageing technology around the products that are frequently used in daily life, and guide business entities to continue to strengthen the research and development of electronic products for the elderly. The relevant person in charge of the National Audio and Video Standards Committee said.
"Information barrier-free construction is a systematic project and a long-term project, and the transformation for the elderly needs to focus on improving the top-level design, innovating work measures, and adhering to technical standards and guidelines. The relevant person in charge of the Information and Communication Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the next step will be to focus on the industrial end of digital technology for the elderly, and launch more digital products and application software exclusive to the elderly, so that the elderly can more fully and conveniently integrate into digital life.
Remodeling——
The product is more applicable, so that the elderly can "surf the Internet" without hindrance
"The words are too small, I can't see clearly when I wear reading glasses", "The operation is troublesome, and I always don't know where to order"...... In the process of using the APP, the elderly often encounter "roadblocks" such as not being able to see clearly, not being able to find, and not being literate.
How to solve the actual pain points of the elderly in the process of using APP? Transformation and upgrading is the trend of the times.
Tencent News has launched a "caring version" for the elderly, which has developed AI voice technology and other functions to realize "one-click listening to the news" and voice input to make comments in response to the needs of the elderly.
"News is one of the most popular mobile apps for seniors. He Yijin, head of Tencent's news business, said that the data shows that the time spent by the elderly using news and information apps accounts for more than 15% of the time spent using all apps, which is 1.8 times the average time spent by all netizens.
He Yijin said that at first, the team paid attention to some messages in the background, and after full research, decided to upgrade. At present, Tencent News' "Caring Edition" intelligent news listening function has an average of more than 110,000 daily visits.
APP adaptation to the elderly can not be achieved overnight, not only requires manufacturers to take the initiative to improve the experience of the elderly through technological upgrading, three-dimensional transformation, high-quality services, etc., but also needs policy support and guidance from relevant departments.
Up to now, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has guided 1,924 commonly used websites and mobile apps for the elderly to complete the transformation and pass the evaluation, more than 140 million smart phones and smart TVs have completed the upgrading and transformation of the elderly, launched the "elder mode" and "care mode", upgraded voice broadcasting, dialect recognition, full keyboard operation and other special functions for the elderly, covering news and information, social communication, life shopping and other high-frequency scenes of the elderly's life, which are widely praised by the elderly.
"Compared with young consumer groups, the elderly are more inclined to simple and intuitive operation interface and functional design, and have higher requirements for product safety and convenience. The relevant person in charge of the Information and Communication Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the high-frequency service scenarios associated with the daily life of the elderly have basically realized the transformation of information barrier-free - chat has a large-font mode, travel can be called a car with one click, and the appointment process on the line for medical treatment is simplified.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will focus on solving the problems of insensitive touch and easy mistouch for the elderly, encourage relevant enterprises, universities, scientific research institutes, pension institutions, and social organizations to establish a digital technology innovation and cooperation mechanism for the elderly, and promote a number of age-appropriate digital technologies to achieve co-construction and sharing, patent opening, and further improve the quality of age-appropriate products and services.
Teaching –
Bridging the digital divide and allowing the elderly to enjoy a new digital life
"Click on this cartoon icon, and it will pop up the emoji interface, and you can click to send. "China Mobile's Beijing Caishikou Business Hall, a smart lecture is underway. How to use the commonly used APP?Which links may be fraud?How to pay with mobile phones in the vegetable market?The elderly sit around the business hall for the elderly service experience center, and learn to Xi operate mobile phones while listening to classes.
"The elderly can not only learn to Xi operate mobile phones, but also experience nearly 30 products and services for the elderly, such as smart doorbells, online consultations, video customer service, and remote co-ordination, in the business hall. Cai Zhengxing, manager of the Public Market Development Department of China Mobile's market operation department, said. Up to now, Beijing Mobile Video Account has launched nearly 30 issues of courseware, and the business hall has cooperated with universities for the elderly, nursing homes and other institutions to carry out more than 1,400 smart classrooms.
In Shandong, the elderly can access the "face-to-face" video customer service with one click and get direct guidance from the front desk operator; in Henan, the mobile phone screen can be remotely synchronized with the customer's consent, and the staff can guide the mobile phone use process "hand in hand"; in Jiangxi, the public welfare silver class has opened 7 major courses, and thousands of lecturers have entered the village and community, and more than 5,000 digital classes have been carried out.
"Ageing is an issue that requires the common concern of the whole society, and it is also a process that requires public participation and multi-party co-construction. The relevant person in charge of the Information and Communication Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that in recent years, enterprises, communities, voluntary organizations and other parties have gathered forces to actively organize various forms of training lectures and on-site classrooms to provide channels for the elderly to learn Xi new technologies and use new products.
Up to now, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has guided enterprises to provide more than 2.2 million elderly people with common APP application counseling, face-to-face explanations and other services for the elderly, and the "one-click call manual customer service" hotline has served more than 300 million people.
In the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will guide enterprises to base themselves on the actual needs of the elderly in different regions and backgrounds, focusing on the promotion and application of intelligent technology in rural areas, townships and underdeveloped areas, and promote the popularization of digital technology for the elderly public services.
This article is reprinted from People's Daily