Advertisement
Digital generation gap: As China’s elderly population grows, so too does the need to bridge the digital divide
- China’s population over 60 years of age continues to grow, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the total population in 2020
- Most senior citizens lack the digital literacy required to access basic services at banks, hospitals, and public transport
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Yujie Xuein Shenzhen
This is the tenth in a series of stories about China’s once-a-decade census, which was conducted in 2020. The world’s most populous nation released its national demographic data on Tuesday, and the figures will have far-reaching social policy and economic implications.
Advertisement
It wasn’t until he went on his first post-pandemic holiday that 65-year-old Guo Zhichao actually thought of himself as old.
“I used to travel when I was young, but after that trip, I’m intimidated by travel for the first time in my life,” said Guo, recalling the embarrassment he and his wife endured when they had to ask strangers to help them call a car on their mobile phone, order food at a restaurant with a QR code or book tickets to a tourist attraction via a WeChat mini programme.
Guo, far from an outlier, provides a glimpse of the many difficulties China’s elderly face as the country simultaneously ages and digitises at an equally fast pace.
10:42
China 2020 census records slowest population growth in decades
China 2020 census records slowest population growth in decades
Last week, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released their findings from the country’s once-in-a-decade population census.
Advertisement
Advertisement