Globe Telecom's President and CEO Urges Seniors to Go Digital

Tech superstar Ernest Cu, President and CEO of Globe Group, a renowned provider of digital solutions, has urged senior people in the Philippines to adopt new technology, arguing that it will make life easier in the day-to-day. ​

“It’s really very important that our senior citizens learn digital skills because in the future a lot of services will truly become only digital. We have to help seniors overcome their fear, and I guarantee you that once you try it, it’s going to be as easy or much easier than the old manual way,” said Cu, an early tech adopter.

“Like e-money for instance. We don’t hold cash anymore, we don’t hold coins anymore, which is a pet peeve of mine. When they give you change back it’s really a pain where you keep it. These things are there to make life easier, not make life difficult,” he added.

Cu, 63, is a digital-first senior who leads a rapidly growing technology company and thinks automation is essential to raising the quality of life.

“I believe in efficiency. I believe in convenience. I believe in using automation to improve one’s life. l I hate the manual way of doing things. If I can automate it, I will. I’m an early adopter. I’ve found that they have been very beneficial to my way of life and it’s made my daily life much easier. And so from that point on, I’ve lost my fear of anything new. I like trying and being the first to try something new and you know, if it works, I adopt it in my daily life. If it doesn’t, I dump it. There’s no harm in trying. Who knows? It (going digital) may be the next best thing you’ve ever done in your life,” said Cu.
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However, it's the other way around for most senior citizens in the Philippines.

Filipinos 65 and older were among the age categories with the lowest digital literacy skills, according to 2021 research by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, which examined digital literacy levels under six ICT indicators of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Merely 18% of seniors possessed at least one ICT skill.

While the elderly in the Philippines understand the value of using smartphones for communication, a study on their use of these devices, which was published in the International Federation for Home Economics, revealed that while they are not very interested in the devices' unique features—like using apps—they find them difficult to use. 

This emphasizes how crucial it is to support older Filipinos in their digital journey.

“Sa ating mga seniors, ang technology ay hindi nakakatakot. Hindi mahirap. Ang mahirap lang is to overcome the fear and gain the trust that using new technology will be much easier, will make your lives much more convenient, and make things faster. It’s just a matter of trying it. And if you do try, I can almost guarantee you, you’ll enjoy it.  So don’t be overcome by the thought of technology. Don’t be intimidated. Try it and I’m sure you will like it,” Cu said.

To bridge this digital divide, Globe helped Filipino seniors overcome the tech barrier by launching the Globe #SeniorDigizen campaign through a learning session that happened on January 25. The event gathered over 200 senior citizens at the SM North Sky Dome, where they learned the basics of using smartphones, setting up an email account, and using apps such as GCash, KonsultaMD, and the GlobeOne app.

​The campaign is consistent with Globe's efforts to promote digital inclusion because it holds that technology is essential to improving Filipino lives and resolving common problems.