Older Hongkongers taking to online apps and social media for latest updates on protests, and some may join rallies too
- Survey shows ‘surprising’ proportion of over-55s turning to Telegram and LIHKG for updates on anti-government movement
- Some older people want to know what their kids, grandkids are thinking; others seek latest news before joining protests themselves
Retired schoolteacher Bill Lau, 66, first learned about the messaging app Telegram and online forum LIHKG – platforms popular with protesters – from his friends and younger daughter respectively.
Curious, he downloaded Telegram and started checking out LIHKG links from his daughter, and now spends at least half an hour on them each day.
Both apps have played a critical role in the increasingly violent anti-government unrest, now in its fifth month. Protesters, who insist the movement is leaderless, have been using Telegram and LIHKG as virtual command centres to obtain updates, exchange details on how and where to gather, as well as share their views on developments.
The online platforms are popular with younger people who make up most protesters, but older Hongkongers like Lau have begun using them too.
“I’m also very concerned about the extradition bill crisis,” he says, referring to the now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China, among other jurisdictions, with which Hong Kong lacks an existing arrangement.
In a survey by Chinese University’s Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey early last month, 49 per cent of those aged 15 to 34 thought Telegram was important for getting information about the protests, while 61 per cent in that age group felt the Reddit-like LIHKG platform was important for such information.
