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Recently, a male student from a university in Zhuhai posted a video saying that he made a smart screen for his grandmother, which can be used to watch TV series, make video calls, and measure blood pressure with one click. In an interview, he said that he added buttons based on his grandmother's usage habits, and the buttons can be used to implement the functions of related software with one click. He posted the video of the smart screen transformation process on a short video platform, which received more than 200,000 likes from netizens.

With the rapid development of science and technology, many emerging smart devices and services have gradually become popular. However, for the elderly who are not familiar with new technologies, these devices and services often seem strange and difficult to operate. Especially for the elderly who cannot read, they can only sigh at the screen and have no idea where to start. In such a situation, the boy's heartwarming action is eye-catching.

According to media reports, this student graduated from Zhuhai Institute of Technology with a major in electronic information science and technology this year. He likes to self-study various software production and use. In January this year, he bought a smart screen for his grandmother, but the 80-year-old illiterate grandmother often encountered difficulties in using it, so he decided to use his professional knowledge to tailor a simpler and more practical smart screen for his grandmother. After months of hard work, he overcame various difficulties and finally succeeded.

In the digital age, many elderly people are trapped by smart screens. The boy's move allows grandma to fully enjoy the convenience brought by technology: the screen adopts a large font and high contrast design to ensure that grandma with poor eyesight can read information clearly; the interface design is simple and clear, each function corresponds to a physical button, and a long press can open the application; when watching TV series, you can also directly adjust the volume through the knob...

The thoughtful renovation has effectively improved the grandmother's quality of life, which is amazing. Against the backdrop of an aging population, we should see the importance of building an aging-friendly society and improving the well-being of the elderly through individual cases.

In reality, many children, after seeing the plight of their parents and elders, will teach them face to face and try their best to help them learn and master some digital operations. However, for many stubborn "digital survivors", the effect is very limited, and they will soon forget after being taught. If there is a tailor-made smart screen, many problems may be solved. But the question is, how many people have the technical ability of this classmate? Children are certainly responsible, but they are often powerless. Building an aging-friendly society cannot be accomplished by one person alone, and requires the joint efforts of the whole society.

It is gratifying that, in the strategic context of actively responding to the aging population, the national level has carried out some active explorations to help the elderly integrate into digital life. The "Implementation Plan on Effectively Solving the Difficulties of the Elderly in Using Intelligent Technology" issued by the State Council in 2020 clearly proposed to promote the transformation of Internet applications to be suitable for the elderly, involving seven high-frequency matters such as travel, medical treatment, and consumption in the daily life of the elderly. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also issued the "Special Action Plan for the Adaptation of Internet Applications to the Elderly and Accessibility Transformation", requiring the launch of more products with functional features such as large fonts, large icons, and high-contrast text for the elderly.

In addition to the call for action, the government should also introduce relevant policies to encourage and support enterprises to develop and produce products suitable for the elderly. This student can customize a smart screen for his grandmother by himself. Why can't companies with stronger technical strength launch smart products and services that are more suitable for the elderly? In the current moderately aging society, why worry about the lack of market for such products? It can reflect the social responsibility of enterprises and obtain economic benefits, so why not do it?

The digital divide faced by the "silver generation" has become a topic of great public concern. College students transformed a smart screen for an 80-year-old grandmother, and it is not enough to stop at admiration. Everyone will grow old, and working together to build bridges to allow more elderly people to cross the digital divide is an important yardstick for verifying the level of social civilization. Building an aging-friendly society demonstrates human warmth, and all parties including the government, enterprises, communities, and families should actively participate in it and jointly provide more support and help for the elderly.

Text by Hu Xinhong