On June 15th, a video of "62-year-old aunt learning piano for 1 year and playing a crying teacher" appeared on the hot search. While people lamented the wonderful sound of aunt's piano, "old people learn musical instruments" and "how old people learn musical instruments" once again. become a hot topic.

The reporter learned that with the orderly progress of the "Special Action for Internet Application Aging and Barrier-Free Transformation", many websites and APPs responded positively, and the "Internet access" of middle-aged and elderly people became more and more smooth. At the same time, the demand potential released by middle-aged and elderly people in the fields of "spiritual culture" such as calligraphy, musical instruments, and painting is being paid attention to by many enterprises, and online education platforms for the elderly have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Online teaching provides a display platform for "silver-haired people"

Today's elderly people are really "different". For them who have received higher education and have a certain economic foundation, they are more pursuing retirement life and more self-satisfaction and pleasure.

A few days ago, Ms. Huang, a 63-year-old consumer, told reporters that this year she learned both the cucurbit flute and the electronic organ online. During the epidemic, she followed the online teacher, watched replay exercises, and sent videos to the class group to discuss with her classmates. her daily life. "Lettos, skips, two-tones, triads... The continuous enrichment of playing skills has made me realize the joy of young people in 'upgrading and fighting monsters' in the game." In addition to the change in mentality, the 62-year-old Mr. Li also He sighed, "After practicing Hulusi for a period of time, not only does my lung capacity increase, but my fingers are also more flexible."

Previously, Zhao Min, secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Conservatory of Music, also said in an interview with reporters that learning music and practicing musical instruments is also a good way to cultivate the body and mind. "If you have zero basic skills, you can try the easy-to-follow dulcimer, guqin, and guzheng. If you have some basic skills, you can try piano and erhu to exercise the coordination of hands, eyes, and brain."

In an interview with reporters, the relevant person in charge of Fengjin's small class said that compared with young people, the elderly learn slowly and forget quickly. In view of this situation, the method of "online teaching + course playback" will be more suitable for the elderly to learn. In addition, most middle-aged and elderly people are more willing to show themselves, and the online education model provides a platform for everyone to show. Students can post their practice singing scores and performance videos to the "class group" after class, not only through the classmates. Mutual assistance found and corrected problems, and also met the needs of students for sharing and presentation.

Capital has made efforts in the field of "spiritual culture"

From dancing in the square to forming a band in the park, to online practice of "Blowing, Pulling, Playing and Singing", the penetration and popularization of the Internet and mobile smart terminals has structurally changed the entertainment consumption habits and performance of contemporary middle-aged and elderly people. Older people are starting to learn online.

The 47th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China released by the China Internet Network Information Center shows that by the end of 2020, the number of netizens in my country has reached 989 million, and the main body of the growth of netizens is changing from young people to underage and elderly groups. .

The continuous advancement of the "aging-appropriate" process in all walks of life has made it easier for more and more middle-aged and elderly people to "access the Internet". They are almost self-taught, accept and learn to use various WeChat mini-programs, learn to start teaching live broadcasts from WeChat groups and Moments, and learn to use short video apps such as Douyin and Kuaishou.

Based on this, they have a huge demand in the fields of "spiritual culture" such as calligraphy, musical instruments, painting, etc. They are paid attention to by enterprises focusing on online education and become the object of capital favor.

In March 2021, Gong and Cymbal Technology, which focuses on the Yinfa entertainment track and provides systematic solutions for the elderly to play music, completed a Pre-A round of financing of tens of millions of RMB; in January 2022, Hongsong, an online interest community for middle-aged and elderly people Announced the completion of the 100 million yuan A+ round of financing. It is mainly aimed at retired people. It provides hundreds of professional courses of interest such as vocal music, musical instruments, calligraphy, painting, dance, and tourism through live broadcast, real-time interaction, and community addition.

Taking advantage of policies, the elderly education market has a bright future

In February this year, the State Council issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the National Aging and Elderly Care Service System", which focused on promoting the education and training system for middle-aged and elderly people, enhancing their sense of gain, happiness and security, and achieving The middle-aged and elderly groups "have pleasure in old age, learn from old age, and do something in old age".

In fact, according to the report "Research on the Development and Indicator System of China's Aging Industry", calculated at 2010 prices, it is estimated that the total consumption of China's elderly population in 2030 will be about 12 trillion to 15.5 trillion yuan, and the ratio to the national GDP will increase. to 8.3% to 10.8%.

The number of the elderly population continues to expand, and the consumption potential of the elderly population continues to rise. For various reasons, these elderly people have a stronger demand for education, which further enhances the development space of elderly education. The reporter learned that as early as 2019, there were more than 76,000 educational institutions for the elderly in China, and there were more than 13 million elderly students including distance education, accounting for 5% of the elderly population aged 60 and above.

The person in charge of "Hongsong" said, "Today's middle-aged and elderly people are very different, they have ample time and mobile Internet foundation, and they have strong spiritual culture and learning needs, but few products can fully meet their needs. Demand. Existing products are generally tool-based, and do not pay attention to the identity and social relationship of the elderly, and do not touch the deep needs of users.”

How to meet the future educational demands of the middle-aged and elderly groups requires starting from the digital age they live in, paying attention to their diverse interests and social needs, and using Internet technology to meet their self-display, social and entertainment needs, and help them in Establish new social relationship contexts in collective interaction and give play to social value.