Shifting roles

A recent report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Tencent shows that the elderly use social networking to strengthen ties and communicate with relatives and friends. The report was based on a survey of about 3,000 families from 10 Chinese cities.

More than 60 percent of those who didn't live in the same city with their children said they were interacting more with their children after they learned to use social networks. Those who used both the internet and social networks have a higher life satisfaction.

Deng Xiquan, director of the China Youth and Children Research Center's Youth Research Institute, says that older people handed down knowledge to their children in the days when society was mostly agricultural.

In the information age, however, their roles have reversed.

"While the elderly's authoritative position has been weakened, young people's abilities to gather information and learn new knowledge have improved. These two factors make Chinese family members more equal and change the family structure," he says.

Many young people are eager to teach the elderly to help them integrate into the changing society, making relations between generations more harmonious.

"The older generations have their advantages, such as rich life experience. They want to learn how to use the internet but may not have proper means and their learning ability decreases after retirement. It's better that the younger generation takes the initiative to teach them," Deng says.

"If the elderly feel they've adapted to society, they will feel younger and have a more positive outlook. They shouldn't be embarrassed to ask their children if they have some problems in learning new things."

As China has evolved into an aging society, he adds, the young should consider it their responsibility to take care of the elderly, who need more psychological care than financial support.

"Children should be patient to teach parents how to use apps. It makes their lives more convenient and colorful, and they don't have to seek help from others in some situations," says Zhang's 36-year-old daughter, Yang Yanyan.

Yang's husband helps their parents download apps and solve technical problems with their mobiles.

They also have taken their parents on excursions, such as an outbound cruise, to broaden their horizons.