One’s never too old to become an ace with the smartphone

Wang Hongmei, a retired middle school teacher, enjoys learning how to use smartphones at a community training center with her friends.

“I felt lost most of the time when I started to use a smartphone,” Wang, 64, of Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said.

“Though I’m more educated than many other people my age, I still cannot figure out how to use many apps.”

Her children show her how to use the apps’ functions if she asks, she said, but they can sometimes be impatient, making her feel uncomfortable.

“I don’t want to bother them, so sometimes I ask my granddaughter for help. Even the little girl knows how to use the apps. I envy young people who can walk out the door without their wallet.”

In Nanjing, more than 700 community training and learning centers have provided courses on how to use smartphones.

Seniors learn to use their phones for things like paying to ride buses and subways, paying bills for water and electricity or using QR health codes to gain entry to parks. Due to pandemic control measures, many places of interest require visitors to scan a QR code for access.

“Sometimes I ask my granddaughter for help. Even the little girl knows how to use the apps. I envy young people who can walk out the door without their wallet.”

WANG HONGMEI

Ye Qingtao, president of Gulou Open University in Nanjing, said the school has provided a course on using apps since 2018.

“It’s greatly welcomed among senior people. At the beginning we just taught them how to use WeChat. With rapid digitalization in recent years, we now teach more smartphone technologies to seniors, such as making appointments with doctors on apps, using QR code payment and shopping on apps.”

The open university also teaches seniors how to avoid internet addiction, a problem that started as they got better at using the technologies, he said.

“Seniors have more spare time than young people, so it’s easy for them to become addicted to their phones. To solve the problem, we also teach them how to check the time they spend on their phones.”

Many seniors are also learning how to make new friends in their community and learning centers, Ye said.