Make good use of tech wisdom to practise life wisdom
Text: Mr. Cheng Tsz Chung and Mr. Yu Long Ting, social workers at the St. James' Settlement Wan Chai Integrated Family Service Centre
IT has enhanced our quality of life, making learning, management, work, and interpersonal communication much easier. A selfie, a short video clip, an emotional emoji, or a video call allows us to share updates with others in a more immediate, immersive, and tangible way, bringing people closer together and eliminating geographical barriers. For busy Hong Kong residents, communication with family becomes more spontaneous and casual amidst long working and studying hours. Making good use of technology and integrating it into our lives has become an inevitable trend.
The centre will gradually and comprehensively promote the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in groups and activities starting from October 2019. Staff will attempt to use various ICT tools, such as mobile applications, shared platforms, or interactive games, to promote family harmony. We hope to strengthen the services currently provided by the Integrated Family Service Centre through this innovative family service intervention approach.
The centre held mindfulness activities earlier this year, inviting women to use mobile applications for mindfulness practice, allowing them to enhance their self-awareness and gradually find a suitable pace for their lives. Additionally, the centre also organised health living workshops, sharing with South Asian women how to use online platforms and mobile applications to calculate calories, which helps them establish healthy living habits. Furthermore, the centre has organised gardening activities for parents and children, enabling them to share their planting experiences through this online platform and encourage each other with heartfelt cards. Moreover, the centre has utilised information technology tools to conduct simple home safety assessments for several families and provided relevant safety information to reduce the chances of home accidents.
We believe that maintaining relationships requires careful management, and improving life efficiency necessitates the gathering of wisdom; technology may be the key to this. As a family service centre, we are happy to share our insights on using information and communication technology with the community, especially in aiding communication among family members. We are also willing to seek improvement methods together for those who are experiencing difficulties in their relationships. Interested individuals are welcome to contact our social workers during office hours.
