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DBS' new ad portrays the real situation here

It is a fact that the typical young adult in Singapore is more tech-savvy than someone from the older generation.

Generally speaking, a significant number of older workers lack experience in using mobile apps and other IT software.

This is not something they should be ashamed of, but should acknowledge with humility.

So, I do not think there is anything seriously wrong with DBS' advertisement for its FasTrack service (DBS' new ad insensitive to older workers, by Mr Derek Lew Tick Ming; Aug 2).

It accurately portrays the real situation here. To deny and reject this is to be self-deceiving.

I doubt that there is an intention to denigrate older workers. Rather, I hope it will spur older workers to make a more concerted effort to upgrade their IT skills and be more conversant with mobile apps.

I have come across many older workers who are averse to acquiring new knowledge, particularly IT skills. They are happy to remain in a state of inertia and are reluctant to break out of their comfort zones.

They should take remedial action to alter their circumstances if they don't want their younger colleagues to look down on them.

However, we must also concede that the learning journey for older workers is much more difficult, compared with that for younger people.

Ageing, which happens to everyone, inevitably affects one's mental and physicalperformance, impeding the learning process of older people.

The young should therefore show empathy and patience when rendering assistance to their older co-workers, cognisant of the fact that they, too, will grow old one day.

Joe Teo Kok Seah

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 06, 2017, with the headline DBS' new ad portrays the real situation here. Subscribe