How to build an elderly-friendly digital society

My husband's 75-year-old grandmother has been living with us in Beijing for a month now. Energetic, she volunteers to cook meals for us every day. The food she prepares is invariably delicious. That's not all. Granny helps us out with household chores. When we step out for a walk, I struggle to keep pace with her.

What surprises me most, however, is how good she is at using smartphones and how eagerly she embraces the latest advances in digital life. Mind you, she had received only primary school education.

When she joined us, we bought her a Beijing transportation card so she could use city buses and commuter trains. One day, she came back with an e-card installed on her smartphone. "It's far more convenient. I saw others walk into the subway station by scanning their phones. I asked one for help to set it up on my phone," she said with a big smile.