A story shared on social media about a taxi experience in Busan highlighted the digital divide in South Korea, where elderly people struggle to use the Kakao Taxi app. This incident sparked widespread empathy and discussion on a Korean community site, with many sharing similar experiences involving their parents’ difficulties with digital services. The narrative underscores the broader societal issue of digital illiteracy among the elderly and calls for more robust educational initiatives to bridge this gap.
A Taxi Experience in Busan Shared on Social Media
In South Korea, a story about a person’s taxi experience in Busan was shared on SNS X. This person did not use the popular Kakao Taxi app (similar to Grab or Lyft, but with more features) and instead hailed a taxi from the street. Nowadays, using the Kakao Taxi app is the norm for hailing cabs in Korea. The taxi driver remarked, “You didn’t call a Kakao taxi?” This led the passenger to think that the driver might be mocking them. However, it turned out that the driver intentionally did not activate the Kakao Taxi driver app in crowded places.
A Heartfelt Reason Behind the Driver’s Choice
The reason for this practice traces back to an incident last summer in front of Samsung Hospital. A young woman had helped an elderly lady, who was crying, get into a taxi. The driver asked the elderly woman what was wrong, and she explained that she had been unable to catch a taxi for an hour under the scorching sun. Despite the abundance of taxis, she was repeatedly told they were reserved. The young woman then used the Kakao Taxi app to hail a taxi for her. Moved by this story, the taxi driver decided to stop using the Kakao Taxi app in busy areas like hospitals, train stations, and bus terminals to assist those who are unfamiliar with the app.
Community Response and Shared Experiences
When this story was posted on the Korean community site theqoo, it received numerous empathetic comments. Many shared similar experiences involving their own parents. They recounted how their parents struggled with the Kakao Taxi app, often relying on their children to book taxis for them. Other users mentioned seeing elderly people having difficulty hailing taxis on the street. Young people also expressed frustration at the current reality where it is challenging to catch a taxi without the app. The consensus was clear: the inability of the older generation to use the Kakao app and thus access taxis is widely recognized. Young people showed deep empathy for the struggles of the elderly, particularly regarding their own parents’ difficulties due to digital illiteracy.
Broader Implications of Digital Illiteracy
This narrative illustrates a broader issue in contemporary Korean society: even well-educated elderly individuals are becoming digitally illiterate. This problem extends beyond taxi apps to other services aiming to reduce labor costs, inadvertently causing inconvenience to many. In Korea, not only taxis but also trains and express buses are difficult to use without smartphone apps. While ticket counters are available, the wait times are often long. Additionally, more restaurants are adopting kiosks or apps for ordering, further marginalizing the digitally illiterate elderly population.
Calls for Solutions and Educational Initiatives
Some theqoo members argue that this issue persists because lawmakers do not personally use smartphone apps. For instance, members of the National Assembly often have assistants to handle such tasks, so elderly lawmakers do not face these challenges. This argument seems to have some validity.
There are also suggestions for solutions from the theqoo community. One user shared that teaching their 70-year-old father how to use the Kakao Taxi app enabled him to use it effectively. This suggests that, with proper instruction, elderly people can learn to use smartphone apps. While local governments are already providing digital education for seniors, there is a need for these efforts to be expanded and further promoted.
Here’s a link to theqoo.I appreciate you taking the time to read this post. Please share your thoughts in the comments!