NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

MAP THE SYSTEM – WRITTEN SUMMARY

TEAM HẮC HƯỜNG

PHẠM HUY DU
PHAN TƯỜNG VY
NGUYỄN AN QUỲNH
ĐOÀN THỊ ĐOAN TRANG

NGUYỄN THỊ KHÁNH NGỌC

 Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 2
1. Overview 2
2. Motivation 2
3. Methodology 3
4. Research scope 3
CHALLENGE LANDSCAPE 4
1. Iceberg model 4
2. Stakeholders map 5
3. System analysis 7
SOLUTIONS LANDSCAPE 11
1. Local solutions 11
2. Global Solutions 12
GAP & LEVERS OF CHANGES 13
KEY INSIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED 14

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 INTRODUCTION

1. Overview
The data on the screen has shown a growing focus of government on developing
the country’s digital infrastructure. However, there are still challenges to be addressed,
one of which is grey digital divide, referring to the disparity in technology usage and
access among older people compared to younger generations. Our team chose this topic
in order to bridge the grey digital divide in Vietnam to promote equal opportunities and
ensure that no one is left behind in this rapidly advancing digital world.

This research targets elderly people over 65 in Vietnam.

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 CHALLENGE LANDSCAPE

1. Iceberg model

In this part we will focus on underlying structure and mental model

Digital divide of old people to expand since the speed of digitalization cannot match the
speed of the ageing population.
Additionally, some programs and applications’ user interface (UI) is not elderly-
friendly. For instance, the custom text can be too small.. Next one is the high cost of new
technology that make the elderly difficult to afford
Moreover, the lack of support from family and the government should also be
considered.
Turning to the mental model layer, our research points out 3 major root causes to
explain the force that leads to this issue in Hanoi. Firstly, some information and
communication technologies companies (ICT companies) lack awareness of elderly
people. Secondly, there is an assumption among Vietnamese people that elderly people
are not good at technology due to their health status. Thirdly, Vietnamese people believe
that old people are dependent and don’t need to learn new things anymore. As people

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age, they become more dependent and they just need to enjoy life for the rest of their life
without accumulating new knowledge, including digital-based knowledge.
Next slide

2. Stakeholders map

In which, 5 main stakeholders include: Elderly Community, Non-elderly

Community, Government, Enterprises, Organizations. Each stakeholder is divided into
small pieces that we have shown on the slide
Next slide

3. System analysis
What caused the grey digital divide?

Due to the limit of time, our team focus on Two critical factors lead to the grey
digital divide in Hanoi: one is from the ICT companies, and the second is from the family
side.

ICT companies

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 Strong digital transformation has led to the rise of countless ICT companies,
which will increase new technology products and services one of which is online public
services.

However, as we have said above, this company has not really cared about elderly
customers, so that their product is not elderly friendly and not comfortable with the older.
As a result, they gradually lose their original inspiration and hesitate to use them.
Eventually, this will enhance the grey digital divide that have been analysis in our model

Next slide

Family

A wide range of social media has emerged among the new technology products and
services, which encourages many people, especially youngster to use them. However, the
elderly still have some problems and hesitant in learning using their devide. So that, when
youngster spend more and more time for social networks time, they reduce the time to
interaction to the elder member of the family, which will cause The feeling of loneliness
and isolation of elder group.

On the other hand, as the elderly use social networks more and more often, they
will lose real interaction with relatives of the same age, this may lead to an anxiety called
“Fear of missing out” (FOMO)

Next slide

These 2 factors, combine with poor eHealth literacy, which was cause from the lack of
access to information by the elderly will increase the propotion that the older will suffer
from both mental and physical illness. All of these will tremendously influence the
elderly’s quality of life. Eventually, poor quality of life will lead to more mental health
problems and physical health problems, and this will enhance grey digital divide

Thus, understanding the whole system will bring a comprehensive, systematic

view and evaluate the areas that need to be affected to bring about the desired impact.

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Due to the limit of time, we don’t have enough time to present more detail about the
relationship how ever these relationship all contain in written summary which has been
submitted before

SOLUTIONS LANDSCAPE

1. Local solutions
Government

To reduce the “grey” digital divide rate and build a society where no one left
behind, the government deploys local activities to help the elderly raise universalizing
digital literacy, enhancing digital skills for the elderly, and providing equal access to
digital technology-related goods and services to close the digital skills gap between
population age groups. Especially helping the elderly access and update basic
applications such as electronic bank cards, online health monitoring books, using health
insurance cards on VssID application, …

Enterprises

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 Online applications of service sectors should be adopted for older persons and
designed with user-friendly and easy-to-use interfaces using biometric technologies
(voice recognition, fingerprint scanning, and facial recognition) suitable for users of
different ages and education levels. Leveraging the potential opportunities of digital
transformation for a healthy and active ageing process, as older persons are potential
customers of the growing digital market. Supporting the elderly with digital devices to
connect to the network at preferential prices, reducing service charges, and improving
ICT infrastructure to ensure broad-band access in remote areas.

Family
Children and grandchildren need to patiently guide the elderly in using and
accessing digital technologies. Disseminate necessary information for the elderly, and
avoid letting the elderly become the victim of fraud on social networks. Encourage and
help the elderly to overcome self-doubt to acquire new knowledge, so that they can once
again reintegrate into the world where they once created.

2. Global Solutions

ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations)

November 19, 2021 – The International Workshop on Aging Dynamic, Innovation
and Technology Application in ASEAN Elderly Care was opened in Hanoi. The main
mission is to assist Member States in formulating and implementing innovative and
dynamic ageing policies by providing information, knowledge and capacity building for
each country’s member, sharing experiences and initiatives to promote dynamic, healthy
and creative ageing in the ASEAN community.

China
In Hong Kong, China, since 2012, ICT programs for the elderly supported by the
government office implement a Community Outreach Program to provide funding to

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NGOs to guide older adults using tablets and other mobile devices and let them
appreciate how digital technology enhances their quality of life. In addition, the
government also implemented “ageing Internet” projects to suit an ageing society and
opened a lot of courses and sessions to guide the elderly to use digital technology.

Singapore
In 2019, an IT literacy portal for seniors was launched to help seniors learn about
digital life and online technology. Smart city in Singapore, by using e-ID cards that allow
elderly and disabled people to swipe their radio frequency identification (RFID) cards at
the waiting box to have more time to cross the roads at intersections.

GAP & LEVERS OF CHANGES

The lack of policies to support older people’s access to technology

One of the most significant challenges in bridging the “grey” digital divide is the
lack of policies to support older people’s access to technology. There is a need for
policies that prioritise and fund such initiatives as well. These policies could include tax
breaks for companies that offer technology and internet services at reduced prices to older
individuals, subsidies for technology training programs, and grants for research on how to
improve older people’s access to technology.

The lack of education and digital guidance for the elderly

The lack of education and digital guidance for the elderly is a major contributing
factor to the "grey" digital divide. Many older individuals may not have grown up with
technology or had the opportunity to learn how to use it in their younger years. Efforts to
bridge the gap include providing technology training for seniors and increasing access to
affordable technology and internet services. Providing education and guidance on how to
use technology can help older individuals feel more comfortable and confident in their
ability to use digital devices and services.

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The lack of attention to elderly-friendly interfaces

One factor that contributes to the "grey" digital divide is the lack of attention to
elderly-friendly interfaces. Many digital devices and services are designed with younger
generations in mind, and may not be intuitive or easy to use for older individuals. Efforts
to bridge the “grey” digital divide should include a focus on designing user-friendly
interfaces for older individuals. This can include larger font sizes, simpler navigation, and
other features that make digital devices and services more accessible to seniors. By
designing digital interfaces with older individuals in mind, we can ensure that they are
able to fully participate in society and enjoy the benefits of technology.

KEY INSIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED

During the research period, we realised that the grey digital divide is a complex
issue and a sophisticated problematic system. In the case of Vietnam, the speed of
digitalization has been rapidly increasing, but the majority of the elderly population is left
behind. This is because many elderly people lack the digital literacy skills required to
access the internet and use digital devices. As a result, they are an easy target of security
threats and cyber attacks. Moreover, digitalization has also created a disconnection
between seniors and the rest of their family members, as well as among the elderly
community themselves. This can lead to various health issues that the elderly can
encounter, such as depression, anxiety, and social isolation.
Despite having understood the main causes behind this problem, many measures
taken have yet been efficient. Should more time be given, further research focusing on
economics aspects will be done by collecting primary data through relevant interviews.
Discovering insights continues to be a difficult task for us, and what we have discovered
so far only scratches the surface. Therefore, this research will add additional cutting-edge
sights if we continue to dig deeper.