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Nation
Print Edition> Nation
UPDATED: May 19, 2014 NO. 21 MAY 22, 2014
Social Media Parenting
Young people consider the advantages of connecting with older family members
By Yuan Yuan
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MADE WITH CARE: Zhang Ming's hand-drawn pamphlet for teaching his parents how to use WeChat, an instant messaging app for smartphones (YUAN YUAN)

Zhang Ming stunned Chinese netizens earlier this year with his efforts to help his parents learn to use social media. The 26-year-old man drew a seven-page guide by hand for his mother and father on how to use WeChat, an instant messaging app for smartphones with more than 350 million active users a month.

In the manual, Zhang sketched out the user interface of WeChat and provided step-by-step illustrations on how to send text messages, voice messages, pictures and emoticons through the app. The steps that require closer attention were highlighted in red while the emoticons were sketched in vivid colors and treated with a more cartoon approach.

Graduating from Chongqing University of Post and Telecommunications, Zhang has been working in Beijing for a few years and has only been able to reunite with his family in Shandong Province for a few weeks every year. In January, Zhang bought two smartphones for his parents and tried to teach them how to use WeChat so they could stay in touch.

But after he showed his parents how to use the app during a visit over the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, he found that they never contacted him through the app after he returned to Beijing. His mother later admitted to him in a phone call that after Zhang left, they had forgotten how to use WeChat and gave up.

"My parents were nervous when it came to using smartphones and I felt sad when I thought of my mom fumbling with hers," said Zhang, who came up with the idea of drawing the WeChat instructions.

"Since you may not be able to master WeChat quickly, just slow down and thumb through this little book. Hopefully it can relieve your anxieties," wrote Zhang on the booklet's cover page.

"With WeChat, my parents can send me voice messages if they don't want to type. They can also learn more about my life through the messages and pictures I share on the app," Zhang said.

Zhang's method proved a success. During an interview with Chongqing Evening News, Zhang's mother said, "I can now chat with my son whenever I want, knowing what he is up to every day. It makes me feel happy."

Zhang's parents now message him constantly, which also helps Zhang to learn what is going on with his family back home. "We feel closer to each other," Zhang said.

Zhang's manual was an instant hit on the Internet after he posted it online in February. The guide book prompted a number of major news outlets to repost the photos. Many netizens replied by saying that they would show the manual to their parents too.

Hi, Mom

Chen Yuxin, 25, works at an electronics company in Chongqing. Not long ago, her mother asked her how to use WeChat as well as Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service.

"I was surprised because my mother doesn't like the Internet at all and once said that smartphone screens are too small to read," Chen said.

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