Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Senior citizens suffer growing digital divide amid contactless boom
An elderly woman takes part in an education program for senior citizens on the use of self-service screens provided by Seocho District Office, Seoul, in this Nov. 13, 2019 photo. / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Lee Yong-gil, a man in his 70s living in Seoul, recently tried to order takeaway food through a delivery app, as eateries are closed after 9 p.m., due to toughened social distancing measures. But following several unsuccessful attempts at making a payment, he gave up, and deleted the app he was attempting to use.
Similarly, Park Jin-sook, a woman in her 60s, feels hesitant about eating at fast food chains after an unpleasant incident she had at a self-order screen few weeks back. Although it was not her first time using the system, completing the order within the time limit was quite a challenge.
“It took several minutes for me to make the order since I had trouble inserting my card. But I felt the stares from people standing in line behind me, probably thinking, 'That old woman is taking too much time,'” Park recalled.
Lee and Park are like many other senior citizens when it comes to difficulties they sometimes face using digital technologies.
The digital divide ― the gap in familiarity with the use of digital equipment and information ― is a pre-pandemic issue, but the COVID-19 pandemic has widened this gap between the young and old. While young “digital natives” are exploring creative ways to deal with a contact-free society by using the country's cutting-edge digital infrastructure, the older generation has been seemingly left behind.
“The coronavirus crisis has made senior citizens feel deeply isolated and disconnected from our digitized society. Even if they have a smartphone, many of them don't know how to use all the functions other than making phone calls,” said Chung Soon-dool, head of the Ewha Institute for Age Integration Research.
Among 300 people aged 65 and above, 41 percent have never tried online shopping, according to a recent survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA).
The KCA has also conducted a research on the difficulties that the elderly face with self-service screens or kiosks. They brought 10 people aged between 65 and 70, who were completely unfamiliar with the screens, and examined how they processed an order thorough the system in a fast food restaurant.
Five out the 10 failed to complete their order, while the remaining five struggled with at least one step in operating the screen, as they were confused with names on the menu or unable to interpret words written in English.
Experts suggest that simply educating the elderly about digital equipment is not a catchall solution. It is more important to understand their mindset.
“Senior citizens prefer to stick to their previous lifestyle. They are hesitant to adapt to new digitized life systems, because some fear that they might mistakes and feel ashamed about this,” said Kwak Geum-joo, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University.
“The younger generation needs to encourage the elderly to familiarize themselves with our digital infrastructure, rather than pushing them to learn, and get used to the system.”