ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief history of the internet revolution and the ensuing digital development history in China. I examine how third agers’ daily lives are transformed by digital media, especially mobile phones over the past decade. I explain how mobile phone use among seniors is structured: namely, through ‘instrumental’ and ‘ritualised’ use. Then, I move to the issues of digital literacy and digital divides and describe the ‘mobile use only’ phenomenon in China—the widespread practice of only using a smartphone to access the internet. Finally, this chapter will reconsider the ageing population and their uses of digital technologies and illustrate the importance of digital capital and digital literacy for the individual's life quality.
