With the rapid development of the Internet and the further increase in the number of elderly people, many companies have turned their attention to the elderly group and carried out aging-appropriate transformation of mobile apps. Various mobile phone software covering basic necessities, such as shopping, chatting, taxis, news, etc., have started the “senior mode”.
Faced with the smartphone in hand, can the elderly handle various mobile apps with ease? Reporters launched an investigation.
Mobile App Appropriate for Aging, Transforming Out of Shape
In recent years, some companies have carried out aging-friendly transformation of mobile apps, and fonts and page layouts have further adapted to the usage habits of the elderly. Many elderly people criticize it.
——There are many ad placement routines. The relevant general design specifications for aging issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pointed out that advertising content and plug-ins are strictly prohibited in the interface of the old version and the separate App for the old version, and advertisements or temporary advertising pop-ups cannot appear randomly, but the reporter found that , After some mobile apps have been renovated for aging, the advertisement placement is still serious. Although some retrofitted old-fashioned apps have simplified the interface, they cannot simplify the “psoriasis advertisement”, and you can still see advertisement push and inducement buttons.
——The interface setting has its own table. One of the key elements of aging-appropriate transformation is to adjust fonts to solve the problem of the elderly group’s reading due to vision loss. However, some app homepage fonts have been adjusted to be suitable for reading by the elderly, but after clicking on the secondary interface, the layout and fonts of the interface are the same as the normal version, which does not fundamentally solve the problem of reading difficulty for the elderly.
——The difficulty of operation does not decrease but increases. The reporter found that many mobile phone apps are not displayed on the homepage, but are hidden in the “settings” column. For the first time, the aging mode is turned on, and it needs to be searched. Zhang Xuekun, a teacher at Hubei University for the Elderly, who specializes in popularizing mobile phone use knowledge for the elderly, told reporters: “Because of this, there are often elderly students who are distressed because they can’t find the switch entry for the elderly mode in the mobile app.”
There are many reasons that make it difficult to promote the aging transformation of mobile phone apps
The 48th “Statistical Report on Internet Development in China” released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) shows that as of June 2021, the number of Internet users in my country was 1.011 billion, with 28% of Internet users aged 50 and above. The elderly group has become a huge market that cannot be ignored in the development of the Internet.
Many respondents said that the state has introduced a series of policies to promote the aging-friendly transformation of mobile apps, but one of the reasons why the aging-friendly transformation is still on the surface is that it is difficult for relevant companies to make profits from it, and some companies lack motivation.
Industry insiders revealed to reporters that from a technical perspective, the aging-friendly transformation of mobile apps is easy to achieve, but for enterprises, the transformation benefits are not high, and it consumes manpower and operating costs, and the user growth rate is low, even causing existing users. churn. “Advertising is the main source of profit for mobile app developers. After removing advertisements from aging mobile apps, their profits will be greatly affected.”
Industry insiders also said that most mobile apps are aimed at young people, and they have not fully considered the elderly in terms of development and design concepts. old. For example, smart phones mainly touch the screen. Compared with physical buttons, they cannot provide better touch and button feedback for the elderly. Moreover, smart phones themselves are equipped with relatively advanced technologies, with their own “complex” features. Compared with traditional mobile phones, the difficulty naturally only increases.
The reporter’s investigation found that many elderly people still use button-operated “elderly phones” that only provide necessary functions of mobile phones such as making calls and sending text messages. They said that they had tried using smartphones and old-fashioned mobile apps, but they were often overwhelmed by touching the screen and various complicated operations, and they didn’t even know how to unlock the lock.
Hubei UniversityeducateZhang Zhimin, a professor at the college and an academic advisor to the Hubei Provincial Association for the Education of the Elderly, said that the reason why the aging-friendly transformation of mobile apps is superficial is that there is insufficient research on relevant companies, and there is a lack of understanding of the preferences, common functions, difficulties and pain points of the elderly in using mobile apps. , there is a phenomenon of subjective imagination, which leads to a mere formality of aging-appropriate transformation. In addition, the society’s appeal for the aging-appropriate transformation of mobile apps is not enough, which also shows that general care for this special group is still insufficient, and “digital benefits for the elderly” are more of a concept and rhetoric.
Zhang Zhimin said that even if the mobile phone app is suitable for aging and adapting to the habits of the elderly, it will be difficult to promote it on a large scale in a short period of time. “The Internet penetration rate of the elderly is increasing, but the Internet usage rate is low, not to mention the proficiency.”
In addition to not using it, many elderly people are afraid to use the smart network. Zhang Zhimin said that in recent years, network security issues have caused concerns, and telecom and network fraud has occurred frequently, which has led to the “fear” of the elderly group, and they talk about the change of network color.
Multiple forces help the elderly to enjoy the app for the elderly
Many respondents said that under the general trend of intelligence, digitization and networking, “digital benefits for the elderly” is not a one-day achievement. Reducing the “digital divide” of the elderly and allowing the elderly to share and enjoy the Internet dividends requires the joint efforts of various social forces.
Zhang Zhimin believes that on the basis of expanding the usage rate of smart phones among the elderly as much as possible, relevant departments should do a good job in researching the Internet needs of the elderly, study relevant policies, and establish a long-term mechanism for “digital benefits for the elderly” and mandatory and unified The standard of suitable aging transformation, and the implementation of supervision and evaluation responsibilities. Incentive measures will be taken for enterprises that actively participate in the aging-appropriate transformation, and enterprises will be encouraged to carry out voluntary public welfare actions through subsidies; a blacklist will be set up for enterprises that refuse to participate and make profits under the guise of aging-appropriate transformation, and effectively punish the behavior of enterprises that violate social morality.
A number of interviewed teachers from senior colleges believe that, in order to help senior citizens apply smart phones, enterprises, communities and relevant departments can regularly conduct training courses on apps suitable for senior citizens, and organize senior colleges, community service personnel, voluntary service organizations and other social forces to set up volunteers. The service team will guide the elderly in a timely manner, help the elderly to use the Internet safely, eliminate the “worry” of the Internet, and adapt to various mature and excellent apps for the elderly more quickly.
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