Intermediary internet access services boon for the elderly

TO BUILD AN ELDERLY FRIENDLY SOCIETY, more intermediary services should be provided to help senior citizens access Internet Plus services. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Hangzhou has recently opened two hotlines “95128” and “400608111” to help special groups, mainly the elderly, use car hailing services. Elderly residents who want to use a car hailing service need only call the hotline, and the service staff will help them book a car.

With the rapid development of internet technology, Internet Plus services have become indispensable in many people's daily life. With a smartphone in hand, people can easily access various kinds of services. With the roll-out of 5G, the internet will become even more deeply integrated with traditional industries to better meet people's needs. People's daily life will be difficult if they cannot access the internet for some reason.

Many elderly residents cannot enjoy the benefits of such Internet Plus services, because they are not familiar with

the internet and do not know how to use smartphone apps. Senior citizens may therefore become victims of the advanced internet technology because they find it more difficult to access and use these social resources compared with the younger generations.

Take internet car hailing as an example. In the past, the elderly could get a taxi in the street as others do. But nowadays, young people can easily get a taxi using an app, which makes it more difficult for the elderly who don't know how to use these apps to get a taxi.

In addition, although the aged population in China is massive, they have little voice on the internet, which makes their difficulties easily ignored by society.

The intermediary services will build a bridge for the elderly to overcome the difficulties of using the internet, which

should be expanded to more Internet Plus service fields besides the car hailing services. In terms of medical treatment, for example, senior citizens face more difficulties nowadays due to hospitals introducing Internet Plus medical services such as online registration. Using a smartphone, young people can easily make an appointment with a doctor, while the elderly may have to wait to be seen.

There should be intermediary services that help the elderly get access to Internet Plus medical services, just like the internet car hailing hotlines in Hangzhou. As China’s population is aging, the authorities should make more efforts and provide more intermediary services to enable the elderly to have equal access to Internet Plus services.