RTX16EHJ.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
A graduate student from the city of Chengde, in north China's Hebei Province, taught her 80-year-old grandparents to use WeChat (the Chinese version of WhatsApp) by creating an easy-to-understand instruction manual so they could communicate with their four daughters.
Li Lu wrote a six-page instruction manual made up of pictures and words on Dec. 31, 2014. She provided instructions for her grandparents such as "Press and hold 'voice' button and then say what you want to tell them; release the 'voice' button." She marked the exact location of the "voice button" and clearly explained each step with notes written in the page margins.
Li's mother is the eldest daughter of her grandparents. Due to demanding work schedules, she cannot find time to visit her mother, which is why Li taught them to use the application to cope up with lovesickness. Her grandparents have four daughters who are now living in different places.
"My mom and my aunts sometimes call my grandparents, but they can't see each other through the telephone. I think that WeChat, whose video-shooting and face-to-face chat functions have been really well received by the younger generations, could help to solve the problem," Li said.
"What's more is that using a mobile device to access these features is easy, given that it's free to send photos or videos to others (via Wi-Fi connection or mobile data)," she added.
There has been a major increase in the elderly population in China. Most of the young people leave their homes for college or start their career, leaving their parents alone in their homes.
In early December, the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced that caring for the elderly through family care will be part of the country's national plan.
