From November 1st to December 10th in 2020, China started its seventh national population census(普查). 7 million census takers have asked each family about their name, gender(性别), age, education, employment(职业) and so on.

China has a national population census every 10 years. The first one was done in 1953. At that time, there were about 600 million people in China. But China’s population has boomed. It was about 1.37 billion in 2010.

For the 2020’s national population census, all residents(居民) of China were included in the census. But Chinese citizens who had settled(定居) abroad and foreign citizens who were staying in China on either business or tourist visas(签证) were not counted.

“The census is very important for every citizen,” said Ning Jizhe, director of the NBS. “It will help improve infrastructure(基础建设) and public services.” For example, if census results show that there are many children living in a particular area, the government will know that it should build more schools there.

Scientists can also learn more about population growth from the census. In some years, the population grows faster than in others. Even in the same year, population growth is different in different places. Scientists can use the information to find out what causes growth in certain years and places.

2020’s census was different from past ones in one important way. For the first time, citizens were encouraged to use smartphones and other digital tools to record their information, Xinhua reported. When census takers knocked on the door, they offered you an account(账号) number and a QR code(二维码) that you used to record your information.

Digital technology has made life easier for most people. With a smartphone, you can shop online, watch TV shows and catch a taxi. However, for many elderly people, such technology only makes their lives confusing(困惑的).

China has about 900 million Internet users. Among them, those aged 60 and above take up nearly 7 percent. That’s why elderly people are sometimes called “digital refugees (数字难民)”. For example, during COVID-19, people are often asked to show a green health code (健康码). “We have made a lifelong contribution to society, but now we feel abandoned by it,” a 75-year-old man told the Global Times.

For the elderly, they mainly learn digital technology from younger family members. However, not all of these younger people have the patience to teach the elderly. In addition, aging results in many physical problems. This makes it harder to use smartphones.

The government and some NGOs in China are trying to help. See Young, a Beijing-based NGO, aims to help China’s elderly people use mobile services. College student volunteers in the organization have been providing free computer and smartphone training for elderly people in over 200 communities across the country.

Now elderly people’s situation has been changed completely...