ES1102 Essay Prompt Final Draft

Singapore is facing a rising greying population, with baby boomers entering their golden years (Tham, 2014). The term baby boomers indicates people who were born between 1947 and 1964 (Ministry of Social and Family Development, 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 as they are not technologically connected, which puts them at risk of social isolation.

Since a group of independent-living elderly faces social isolation as they are deprived of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support due to their lack of knowledge and access to technology, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) should implement a series of TV commercials in different languages to educate and promote the use of Internet so as to encourage the elderly to be plugged in and to take the first step out by having Internet installed on their computers or to purchase a home computer together with Internet connectivity.

Because of their lack of awareness in technology, this group of independent living elderly are not connected to the cyber world. When the elderly are connected, they are able to access a wide variety of information and knowledge pertaining to their interest or pick up something new through the mass information that were placed online. This in turn allows the elderly to be active and be intellectually healthy as they learn and enrich themselves with new knowledge every day through the Internet. In addition, the Internet provides the elderly communication means with their friends or family members as well. Communication tools like webcam or Skype can allow the elderly to stay connected with their loved ones as they are able to engage in real time video conferencing over the Internet. Webcam and Skype are not just communication platforms to the elderly but it suffice as a medium to help ease emotional isolation of the elderly. The elderly can be aware and kept updated with the life of their children and this helps to put them at ease. The ability to engage in real time video conferencing also eases the social isolation of the elderly as they would be able to interact and communicate with people at a click of their fingers. All in all, the elderly will thus be able to live a more enriching and fulfilling lifestyle with the help of ICT support. Therefore, it is obvious that without ICT, the elderly will not be able to enjoy the benefits and are highly at risk of social isolation.

In 2009, there was a whopping 30,000 elderly who are at risk of social isolation. These elderly are poor, living alone, divorced or widowed, or in poor health (The Straits Times, 2009). It could be likely that this figure would have gone up in the year 2014. Preliminary results from an MCYS-commissioned survey has also indicated that those living alone and those with weak social networks outside of the household were more likely to be at risk of social isolation (Ministry of Social and Family Development, 2010). If the elderly do not engage in any form of community activities and interactions with other people, it is probable for these elderly to be isolated as they would be cooped up at home every day doing nothing. To add on, these elderly might be bothered by their physical impediments such as difficulties in walking long distances and thus leaving their homes to engage in a certain activity or hobby would be tedious for them. The mundane and monotonous lifestyles the elderly get by with daily is unhealthy and detrimental to their emotional well-being, and thus ICT should be the solution to help the elderly get out of this vicious cycle of isolation.

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. These Seniors Activity Centres (SACs) are key communities agencies which provide social support and care for seniors in that community, MCYS reported (Ministry of Social and Family Development, 2010). However, there are shortcomings to these SACs. Even though these centres are located 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 seem pointless to them. Elderly who have difficulties walking due to their old age would also not frequent these SACs as it would be a tedious process for them. Without going to these SACs, the elderly would still be isolated and walled up within their homes as they would not be able to enjoy the activities and benefits SACs brought about. As such, the proposed solution has to be implemented within the households of the elderly so that it could raise awareness while educating them about the benefits of ICT. This is in hope that the elderly would be encourage to start having Internet installed on their computers or to even purchase a computer together with Internet connectivity.

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) should implement a series of TV commercials to raise awareness about ICT for a start. The commercial would be crafted and designed to be visually appealing with simple words, catchy slogans and taglines coupled with flashy images. In order for them to understand the content, the commercials would be made in the three major spoken dialects by the elderly, Mandarin (not a dialect), Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew. Also, in order to boost viewership by the elderly population, the commercials would be broadcasted during the morning and afternoon period when most of the elderly will be active throughout the day. The commercials is a primary step to educate the elderly by helping to raise awareness of the importance of ICT through its commercial message. This is in hope that they would be encouraged to get in touch with ICT. It is however not adequate if the efforts are stopped here. Campaigns and community events need to be followed up to boost the actual commitment of the elderly to stay connected. Infocomm service providers such as Singtel or Starhub can partner with community centres to organise events to promote about ICT and to offer Internet service packages at a friendly rate to the elderly who attend these events. The solutions to getting these elderly to be connected have to be progressive to see results and the implementation of the commercials is the first step in trying to catch the attention and eyeballs of these elderly.

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. It is thus essential for IDA 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

Ministry of Social and Family Development (2010, March 04), Neighborliness is best defence against social isolation, Retrieved 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 from http://www.news.gov.sg/public/sgpc/en/media_releases/agencies/mcys/press_release/P-20090109-1

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