Nikom Tongpitak, a retired teacher, lives in Ubon Ratchathani far from his grandchildren. In order to maintain his relationship with the little ones during the Covid-19 pandemic, the 73-year-old launched a YouTube channel Kuy Kan Lan Pu (translated as Grandpa Chats With Grandchildren) where he hosts the programme with his grandkids.
Nikom learned to use the Streamyard livestreaming program and other editing software after participating in the project Soong Wai Huajai Young Work (Old But Active). Supported by the Thai Media Fund, project manager Pojai Poonnat said it initially aimed to help elderly people earn income and learn digital literacy skills.
"Thailand is currently an aged society and many elderly people have income problems. Some live off their social security funds and benefits. Also, elderly people tend to share fake news very quickly, so people at the Thai Media Fund hope that the project will help them to be media literate and aware that news on social media may be true or fake," Pojai explained.
The free project lectured participants aged 50 to 75 for three days earlier this year. Due to the pandemic, the participants had to learn and communicate with staff and other participants online. Since elderly people can easily forget things, the project assigns "digital buddies" to help elder participants.
The digital buddies are university students or recent graduates who are technophiles. They explain how to use various applications and programs such as the livestreaming tool Streamyard, video editor programs, VN and Kine Master, and the graphic design app Canva. One digital buddy works with five to six elderly participants.
"The three-day online lecture provided knowledge of how to help elderly people become online content creators, online tutors and digital marketers as well as teach them digital literacy. Many participants are retirees who used to be specialists and teachers. Although they are retired, they still want to teach or share their knowledge, but they do not know how to create online content and use online tools. Many courses are offered online, even courses about how to make seafood or chilli sauce. I purchased the 675 baht seafood sauce course and there were thousands of people in the class. If people are specialised in something, they can turn their knowledge into money. Our project emphasises on launching content on TikTok because Facebook has too many competitors," said Pojai.
"Since older people tend to be forgetful and repeat the same questions, digital buddies are key players in the project. The main requirement for a digital buddy is to be service minded and to help elder participants whenever needed during the 45 days of service. They receive 20,000 baht as compensation."
After the three-day lecture, the 52 participants were assigned to create their own videos themed "My Happiness". Among the 25 participants who completed their videos, Nadrda Suksuthamwong and Supanee Ariyasopongwong applied what they learned from the project to improve content on their own platforms.
Nadrda is a fitness influencer who is best known for her TikTok account @krutookta_. Her most popular video is her shuffle dance. Nadrda is always on the lookout for training courses to help her improve. During the project, she learned of new apps that she had never used before.
"I learned how to use video editor apps, VN and Kine Master, and a graphic design app, Canva. I can use them to help improve content to be more interesting with trendy backgrounds and decorations. My digital buddy was nice. She was not patronising, so I did not feel ignorant. She patiently taught me to use the livestreaming website Streamyard, and let me practise until I could do it myself," said Nadrda.
After the project, Nadrda launched her health and fitness Facebook Group, Soong Wai Kor Sodsai Dai (Elderly People Can Be Active) at bit.ly/3EgnE49.
"I learned from the project that the Facebook Group is a channel for people who have similar interests. When I share something, people with the same interest will pay attention to it. I also learned from other fitness gurus in the group," Nadrda said.
Supanee was a speech therapist for several decades, so she has knowledge about children with special needs, which she shares on her Facebook page at bit.ly/3xB1kki. Supanee said the project helped her improve the content on her page.
"I used to spend a lot of time writing one post. Currently, I can film a video, edit and post it on Facebook by myself. My digital buddy was enthusiastic; she responded to all my questions. This project broadened my horizons, so I can change from writing posts to creating videos. I hope the project will open as an onsite course. I would take that course, so I can improve myself more," said Supanee.
Lapanaporn Sakunkangsuksa, a new graduate from the Faculty of Communication Arts in Digital Media at St Theresa International College, is one of the digital buddies. She was interested in the project because it allowed her to work with elderly people.
"I wanted to share my knowledge and learn from them since we are in different generations. When working with elderly participants, I had to be patient and explain to them slowly and precisely with simple words. If my explanation was too long, they tended to forget. I did not mind re-explaining to them. I found if I showed my enthusiasm, they would pay better attention. I hope if the project returns in the future, there will be more digital buddies, so elderly people do not have to wait for a reply to their questions," said Lapanaporn.
The project initially aimed to help elderly people to make money, but in the end, the manager found that for most participants making money was not the main focus.
"One participant wanted to create her own online personal branding. After the project, she did not create a social platform and we could not force her to do so," Pojai.
Many content creators want to have viral content and many followers, but Pojai said these are not their main goals.
"We told participants to share their stories with their friends and they will later share their content. Creating interesting content and updating consistently are the principles. Nadrda, who is an influencer, had never advertised her platforms, but they quickly expanded because her content is useful," said the project manager.
"Supanee's Facebook is a page that parents who need advice for children with special needs will visit. It is worth it when one post on the page can help a family. The page does not need to be viral," Pojai added.
Both Nadrda and Supanee were satisfied with the project. They hoped that future projects will extend the period of lecture and practice because elderly people need more time processing. Pojai said due to positive feedback, it is possible that the project will return. In the meantime, all lectures from the previous project have been uploaded on facebook.com/youngoldyoungwork.
"Anyone can download the lecture and learn how to create online content and use editing applications by themselves. If they have any questions, they can message their queries to us," said Pojai.
"I received a lot of gratitude from participants. Some elderly people bought new equipment to work on their content. When I saw their work, I was proud of them."
