ES1102 Essay Draft 4 (Edited)

Singapore is facing a rising greying population, with baby boomers entering their golden years. (Tham, 2014) The term baby boomers indicates people who are born between 1947 and 1964. (MCYS, Jan 2009) As the country progresses toward a technologically advanced era, a group of these baby boomers and those older than them are unintentionally left behind - they are the group of independent living elderly who are not technologically connected.

Since a group of independent-living elderly are deprived of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support due to their lack of awareness in technology, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)  should implement a series of TV commercial in different languages to educate the use of Internet to allow these elderly to be plugged in.  

Problem

Because of their lack of awareness in technology, this group of independent living elderly are not connected to the cyber world. Being connected for these elderly meant myriad access to information and knowledge of their interest. Elderly can also make use of the Internet to communicate with their friends or family members. Communication tools as simple as webcam is good enough for these elderly to stay connected with their loved ones. However, many are unable to do so as they simply do not understand the system and the controls. Without ICT, it is obvious elderly are not able to enjoy these benefits. As adapted from Straits Times, 2009, “They are elderly, poor, living alone, divorced or widowed, or in poor health - and there are 30,000 of them in Singapore. These are the numbers at risk of social isolation, said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan as he gave an update on the day-to-day conditions of the elderly poor and what the Government was doing to help them.”, these are elderly who are at risk of social isolation. “Preliminary results from an MCYS-commissioned survey indicated that those living alone and those with weak social networks outside of the household are more likely to be at risk of social isolation.” (MCYS, March 2010).  It is therefore common for these elderly to be stuck at home and do nothing every day if they do not engage in any form of community activities, hobbies or interaction with other people, and this could result in social isolation of the elderly. To add on, these elderly might also be bothered by their physical impediments such as difficulty in walking long distances and thus leaving their homes to engage in a certain activity or hobby would be tedious. If an elderly is placed in the above mentioned conditions, it is likely that this elderly would be depressed and lonely as he/she is unable to engage in something meaningful, and is unable to communicate and interact with other people.

Solution
Currently, there are many efforts undertaken by the government to promote a healthy aging environment for the elderly, and Seniors Activity Centres is one of them. “The Seniors Activity Centres (SACs) are key communities agencies in providing social support and care for seniors in the community.” (MCYS, March 2010). However, there are shortcomings to these SACs as well. Even though these centres are set up in the vicinity where the elderly reside, elderly who are obstinate and refuse to socialise and make friends would not make a trip to these SACs as it would be pointless to them. Elderly who have difficulty walking due to their old age would also not frequent these SACs as it is a tedious process for them. Without going to these SACs, the elderly would still be isolated and walled up in their homes as they could not enjoy the activities and benefits SACs brought about. As such, it is important to address the issue from home. The implementation of TV commercials is a possible way to educate the elderly about the importance of staying connected and the value of having ICT in their homes. IDA could design a series of commercials that would be broadcasted during the morning and afternoon period when most of the elderly will be active throughout the day. The commercials would be in the three major dialects spoken by the elderly, Mandarin (not a dialect), Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew, in order for them to understand the content. The commercials would be made to appeal visually with a lot of images and minimum characters as the targeted audience is a group of not well educated or illiterate elderly. The TV commercials is a primary step to educate the elderly and to encourage them to get in touch with ICT. It should also be used to complement the several existing policies implemented by the government to allow elderly to purchase computers at an affordable rate.

The digital divide in Singapore is real with a group of elderly who are still not connected. The digital gap between elderly who are aware of technology and are plugged in and those who are unaware is important. Those who are plugged in are likely to live a more active and informative lifestyle whereas those who are unplugged are at risk of social isolation. As technology advances, Singapore is expected to progress along. This will put our baby boomers and those older than them at a disadvantage for their lack of knowledge with Information Technology (IT). It is thus essential to do something to allow these group of elderly to update their status from “offline” to “online” and to reduce the possibility of more elderly being socially isolated.

References

MCYS, (2010, March 04), Neighborliness is best defence against social isolation, Retrieved October 20, 2014 from http://app.msf.gov.sg/Portals/0/Summary/pressroom/Neighbourliness%20is%20Best%20Defence%20Against%20Social%20Isolation.pdf 

SG Press Centre, (2009 January 09), Singapore's Baby Boomers Wish To Age Meaningfully And Stay Active In Their Golden Years, Retrieved Date, October 6, 2014

The Straits Times, (2014 March 13), Bridging the digital divide, Retrieved October 4, 2014 from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/bridging-the-digital-divide-20140317

The Straits Times, (2009, October 29), Retrieved October 20, 2014 from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/today20091021-2.1.10.aspx