Awkward questions this CNY? Use these tech terms to distract your relatives

You know it’s Chinese New Year season when you see articles surfacing about how to deal with awkward questions from relatives you see once in a while.

To get in the festive spirit, we have suggestions of our own on how to nip those “When are you getting married/having kids/getting promoted” questions in the bud.

Our solution: dazzle them with your tech knowledge. Turn the tables on them and ask them if they have been keeping up with the latest tech news, and then dominate the conversation with our handy list of must-know tech terms below, written in ready-to-use conversation style.

Metaverse (元宇宙)

So you’ve probably heard that Facebook has renamed itself Meta. But yeah, everyone still calls it Facebook, haha.

Everyone’s talking about the metaverse nowadays. It’s not yet clear what shape and form it will take. Like when the internet started, social media wasn’t even a thing!

But so far it seems like most people think it will be some form of virtual reality where people can go to interact, work, and play. How realistic and appealing that will be is anyone’s guess. Maybe we’ll all be having our reunion dinner in the metaverse in a few years’ time!

Blockchain (区块链)

One thing I’ve been reading more about is the blockchain. It’s a new way of storing data: instead of storing data in a central location, copies of the data are spread throughout a network. So, a network of interconnected computers will each have a copy of the data. If a change is made, every computer must agree on it before logging it.

It’s just like how I know mom and dad have a sheet recording all the hongbaos they’re going to distribute, the recipients, and the amount inside. If there’s just one copy, the information will be gone if that copy is lost. So mom and dad should each hold one copy, and any updates must be agreed upon by both and changed on both copies together.

This new tech has many uses, and we’ve not maximised its potential yet. Right now, it’s being used to verify someone’s vaccination status and COVID test results. Cryptocurrency (加密货币)

Cryptocurrency (加密货币)

Hey, I heard uncle has been buying plenty of bitcoin. What is bitcoin? Oh bitcoin is a kind of cryptocurrency made possible by blockchain technology. Transactions are recorded on the blockchain. Another thing special about it is that while currencies are usually issued by the governments of different countries, there is no central authority governing cryptocurrencies.

The value of cryptocurrencies are pretty volatile, but have been going up in recent years. Anyway, please give my hongbaos in the form of cryptocurrency from now on, thanks!

Non-Fungible Token or NFT (非同质化代币)

You know how anything digital can be copied countless times, just like a photo you can share on WhatsApp to all your friends? Well, NFTs are digital collectables that are recorded on the blockchain. So if your copy is the one recorded, then it’s certified to be unique!

It’s just like there are countless copies of Teresa Teng’s final album, but if you owned the only autographed version, then yours is truly one of its kind! NFTs exist for lots of different things, from photographs to videos to music!

Hey, we can even take a family photo now and convert it into an NFT!

Smart Nation (智慧国)

I really like that more and more government services can be done digitally. We don’t have to wait in line or be put on hold on the phone. The Singpass app is especially useful! It holds our digital identity and unlocks so many services.

Even our Identity Card has been digitised and is inside our Singpass now. Aunty, aren’t you always worried about losing your IC? Now you don’t have to be.

All these are part of transforming Singapore into a Smart Nation, so that technology is used to improve the lives of everyone.

GovTech (政府科技局)

At the end of the day, someone has to build and maintain digital government services. That someone is GovTech, a government agency that is spearheading digital transformation within the public sector.

Know someone who is about to graduate? Maybe they should consider joining GovTech.

New conversation for the new year

It gets boring answering the same old questions every year. So, use your new vocabulary to spark some fresh conversations. You might even uncover a crypto millionaire or two among your relatives.