Ancillary #9

My issue is the digital divide phenomenon for the elderly population in China, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic under the policy of using health QR codes. I am specifically interested in exploring how setting up a nationwide online platform with peer teaching is best suitable to bridge the electronic devices/internet usage gap.

Currently, I know that not only China but many other countries are stepping into the “aging society” stage, which means that the percentage of older people is increasing tremendously. When Chinese elderly people meet great difficulties accessing health QR codes and their daily lives are badly affected, it is very likely that aged populations around the world meet similar technical-related problems too. Therefore, I am prompted to explore potential ways to help them out. Some may say that China should get rid of the whole QR code thing, but they ignore the benefits of such a policy. The code helps monitor and track positive cases, which prevents unnecessary and costly locking down of cities, given China’s goal of minimizing COVID infection rates. Therefore, my analysis rather focuses on the most effective action for the elderly when the health QR code policy is still in effect.

There are various different ways to approach this. From my own experience, my family always helps my grandparents set up their health QR codes. This reflects one way that many people do for the elderly population, that is, letting young people do the work, omitting the difficult and confusing technical parts for the elderly. Based on my research till now, I also see ways that suggest letting grandchildren teach aged people. I would like to do further research and see how other countries may approach this digital divide problem. By comparing various ways, I could then choose one that best fits my values and suggest modified solutions specifically for China.