Nation urged to facilitate the rise of 'silver surfers'

Equal access to services

Some national lawmakers have suggested that the government should require service providers to ensure that seniors have equal access to essential social services by maintaining traditional reservation-and-payment channels at public institutions, such as hospitals and banks.

They have also urged the introduction of simplified versions of apps that will allow seniors to become involved in the mobile internet age and enjoy the benefits of modern technology.

Shao's daughter has offered to buy her a smartphone several times, but she has always refused. "My memory, eyesight and learning ability have all receded with age. I have a real feeling of fear about smartphone apps," Shao said.

Zhang said he knows many retired teachers who have good educational backgrounds but are unable to adapt to internet-based services, where users have to download apps for just about every resource or function.

"Very often they are confused about how to operate the apps, so eventually they give up," he said.

Zhu Guoping, a 60-something NPC deputy from Shanghai, echoed that sentiment.

"How many people among the elderly group can use smartphones to make mobile payments, use taxi-hailing apps, book railway tickets, unlock shared bikes or arrange appointments at hospitals?" said Zhu, who is head of the Shanghai Association of Neighborhood and Village Committees.

"Nowadays, we see that machines have largely replaced human staff to provide services at banks and hospitals. I have suggested (to the NPC) that such institutions should retain manual service windows, because many senior people don't know how to operate the digital screens."

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of last year, about 250 million people in China were age 60 or older, while statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center show that the same age group accounted for just 40 million of the nation's 770 million internet users by the end of 2017.

Some bank employees said machines and online banking services, which customers can easily access from home, will eventually replace manual service windows.

"Now we have these machines at banks, and they can fulfill all the customers' needs, such as opening a new account, requesting a statement or reporting a lost card or a forgotten password. That means they don't need to use service windows," said a bank manager surnamed Cai, who preferred not to name her employer.

She said her bank assigns staff members to each machine to provide help for customers, especially older people.

"I feel that some seniors, especially those who are recently retired, don't dislike the machines and they don't want to be left behind by the times. If they master operating these machines, they will be very happy," she said.