Must we rush our seniors into using technology?

We can’t just hand our seniors a device and force them to use it. Let’s help them adapt at their own pace, and say no if they want.

- Cynthia Tan and Tan Yi Wen

Digital Ambassadors from SG Digital Office stationed to help people at the SG Digital Community Hub inside Heartbeat@Bedok. Perhaps we should think less about how many seniors are able to use technology, but more about how technology enriches their autonomy and independence, say the writers. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

(ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI)

On a recent Sunday, nostalgia struck me (Cynthia) in the form of a craving for a McDonald’s breakfast. Don’t judge - hash browns just hit differently after the age of 60.

It seemed simple enough to just go to the restaurant and buy it.

But I ended up getting a lesson in the quiet humiliation of digital life.

It began at the glowing self-service kiosk, which greeted me with a barrage of icons, menus and inexplicable arrows. My helper and I tapped bravely, fumbling through screens and adding sides I didn’t want. By the time a teenage boy rescued us, I had accumulated one extra hash brown, a mysterious upsized drink and a sinking sense of inadequacy.

I got my McDonald’s in the end.

But I also walked away with a question: If I, reasonably educated and still fairly active in my 70s, could feel excluded by a self-service kiosk, what does that mean for thousands of older Singaporeans navigating everything from banking to healthcare?

By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 or older. At the same time, daily life is being rewired at a pace that can feel relentless. QR codes have replaced menus, apps have replaced tellers, and video calls have replaced family visits.

Technology, we're told, is the great solution to ageing. Smart homes, telemedicine and social robots all promise greater independence, reduced loneliness and better healthcare. And yes, research shows many seniors benefit. Internet use has been linked to better mood and stronger connections; monitoring systems can keep people safe.