With the "aging" of the demographic structure and the popularity of smart phones, the proportion of the elderly using mobile phones to access the Internet has risen rapidly. According to the data of the seventh national census, the number of elderly people aged 60 and above in China has reached 264 million. At the same time, the "digital divide" faced by older persons is also receiving increasing public and policy attention.
In April 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology successively launched the "General Design Code for Internet Websites Suitable for Aging" and the "General Design Code for Mobile Internet Applications (APP) Suitable for Aging". Deploy to further grasp the implementation of special actions for the aging of Internet applications and barrier-free transformation, and clarify the standards and specifications for transformation, evaluation systems, etc. Subsequently, various regions have also followed suit. Reflecting the warmth of digital, eliminating digital barriers, and allowing the elderly to keep up with the Internet era is the true meaning of "the old and the old".
Mobile Internet application (APP) suitable for aging universal design specification entries
How effective is the aging modification? At the press conference on the development of industry and informatization in 2021 held on January 20 this year, Zhao Zhiguo, spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Information and Communication Administration, said in response to a reporter's question that the first batch of 217 websites and APP closely related to the lives of the elderly have completed the adaptation to aging transformation and passed the evaluation to provide more comprehensive, more intimate and more direct convenience services for the elderly.
Recently, the communication world reporter learned from the website of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Internet Application Ageing and Barrier-free Transformation Special Action" has achieved certain results, and the website announced the first batch of APP that passed the evaluation of ageing and accessibility level.
The first app to pass the ageing and accessibility level assessment
Not only that, but "adaptive aging" has also received international attention. The theme of this year's World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (17 May) is "Digital technologies for older persons and healthy ageing". ITU said that global population ageing will be a decisive demographic trend in the twenty-first century, and society is struggling to find opportunities that this trend may bring. Telecommunications and information and communication technologies (ICTs) have a role to play in achieving healthier ageing and can also help build smarter cities, combat ageism in the workplace, ensure financial inclusion for older people, and support millions of caregivers around the world.
In addition, ITU is calling on Member States to continue to use ICTs, develop digital policies and strategies, and use digital technologies to enable older persons to age healthily, participate in and contribute to society. ITU calls on Sector Members, Sector Associates and Academic Members to continue to promote cooperation and partnerships in areas such as innovation and digital knowledge/literacy, to create opportunities for economic, social and political growth and to take advantage of new possibilities to strengthen the digitally inclusive and age-friendly digital environment, and to continue to achieve the Connect 2030 Agenda.
The current process of elderly people using mobile Internet applications
What obstacles remain?
What kind of help does the elderly group need the most?
How effective is the aging transformation of Internet enterprises?
What else can Internet companies do for the elderly?
In 2022, the communication world all-media will continue to track the process of "ageing transformation" in an all-round and multi-angle form, so please pay attention to it.
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Author: Fan Huiqing
Editor-in-Charge/Layout: Fan Fan
Review: Shen Qing
Producer: Liu Qicheng
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