Helping the elderly master the digital age

Lianhe Zaobao, page 13

Four recent graduates from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information are promoting the CanOneLah! programme to teach the elderly how to use mobile applications such as WhatsApp so as to help them bridge the digital divide. Their survey of 118 elderly people found that many elderly living in one or two-roomed HDB flats have relatively low literacy levels and are unable to understand digital literacy. Many of them cannot read the learning materials provided by the government, so they cannot send text messages, cannot make video calls and do not know how to send photos. In collaboration with seven social welfare agencies, the quartet organised 18 sessions with 270 elderly people, physically meeting them to teach them how to use mobile applications such as WhatsApp.