My parents will call me with a complaint like, "There is a thing on the screen that won't go away." And with no further information expect me to know what they are talking about.
Poll: Do old people overestimate your tech skills
- Thread starter t3h br0th3r
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A little bit. My mom usually goes for me for electronic help when she can despite the fact that I'm not that much of a tech-person (in comparison to some of my friends). But maybe that's me just taking it wrong. I can usually at least help a bit with electronic or computer problems that she has, so maybe she just figures I'm a bit better than her at that kind of stuff.
Yeah that's pretty much my job in my family. While my mom is a little more tech savvy than my dad, she tries to do everything the long and hard way. So I have to show her the easy way that I do it. And as for my dad, he is pretty clueless. But its ok, he doesn't really use the computer much, except to play his baseball stat game and write tests.
It makes me feel wanted. Like I'm some kind of lame superhero
It makes me feel wanted. Like I'm some kind of lame superhero
Not just old people. Everyone.
My sister calls me up when something goes wrong with anything even slightly technical.
"VCR not playin wat do???"
"Have you plugged it in?"
"... OMG lifesaver u shud b computer fixr"
Yes I am a fucking technokenetic genius because I remembered you have to plug electronics in why aren't I in IT or some shit.
Then they act like I'm not trying when they have a GENUINE problem and I can't fix it. Like the laptop fucking explodes and I'm told to get on that.
Okay, sure, I'll just fucking hack this fire out and build all the burnt bits out of chewing gum and old toaster, no problem.
My sister calls me up when something goes wrong with anything even slightly technical.
"VCR not playin wat do???"
"Have you plugged it in?"
"... OMG lifesaver u shud b computer fixr"
Yes I am a fucking technokenetic genius because I remembered you have to plug electronics in why aren't I in IT or some shit.
Then they act like I'm not trying when they have a GENUINE problem and I can't fix it. Like the laptop fucking explodes and I'm told to get on that.
Okay, sure, I'll just fucking hack this fire out and build all the burnt bits out of chewing gum and old toaster, no problem.
People who are tech savvy today are the "mystic shamans" of their communal family. It won't just be old people overestimating your skills. Anyone else who isn't tech savvy but hears that you are, will constantly claim that you were carved from Bill Gates' calf. In my family, it alternates between myself and my brother. What's our real secret? We know how to read instructions and do a little research. There's nothing special about it and I try to explain that to people all the time. I put together my current computer just by reading the quick-start pamphlet that came with the motherboard. I'm honestly surprised that I got the front end HD and power lights working this time around; on my last PC, I couldn't figure it out so I left them off. No matter how many times I note this to my housemates, they still come to me when their computers aren't doing exactly what they think they should be doing.
I also realize there's a bravery factor to it. If people see that you're willing to take the step that they're too afraid to cross because of unknown consequences, they're going to put you on that pedestal and keep you there until further notice.
Don't even bother trying to educate them on how to do it themselves, either. I tried that with my mother the millions of times she asked me to fix something trivial, and she still only calls or texts me when she needs something fixed that I already told her how to do herself.
I also realize there's a bravery factor to it. If people see that you're willing to take the step that they're too afraid to cross because of unknown consequences, they're going to put you on that pedestal and keep you there until further notice.
Don't even bother trying to educate them on how to do it themselves, either. I tried that with my mother the millions of times she asked me to fix something trivial, and she still only calls or texts me when she needs something fixed that I already told her how to do herself.
I work as a desktop support tech, so people don't really overestimate my technical skills when they come to me expecting me to fix things for them. What they do overestimate is the level of knowledge it invariably takes to fix their problems - people tend to be shocked when they ask "How did you even know to do any of that?" and you tell them that you didn't have any idea of how to fix their problem until you sat down to look at it.
For instance, around our support area I'm apparently something of a resident expert at removing malware (or so I'm told whenever they send me out to places I don't ordinarily respond to because the local tech is stumped). If the user whose computer I'm cleaning is present while I poke and prod and then surgically remove their infection, the topic of how I learned to do the seemingly arcane feats of technowizardry they are watching me perform tends to come up, and I always tell them that there was never a delineating point where I suddenly learned any ancient mystical secrets, I've just been sitting down and experimenting with and reading about the underpinnings of their OS for years. Consequently I'm familiar with how the system itself works, so I know roughly where to look when I need to figure out how any given piece of malicious software is launching, and all the previous infections I've had to purge mean that I'm rarely if ever surprised by how that particular infection insinuated itself into their system.
From my perspective, nothing I'm doing is particularly arcane or reliant on specialized knowledge, but I've spent essentially 20+ years now interacting with computers in ways that your average end user - who just wants to sit down, launch their programs that they need to run, and have it all work - hasn't. I tinker, experiment, improve - things like keeping your software up to date and instituting proper security measures are second nature to someone of my mindset, but users, unless its been driven into their heads that they have to, would probably never even try to do that, let alone consider why they should. Expecting what I consider basic computer maintenance from an end user would be a lot like asking them to "overclock their toaster-ovens" - they have no idea what that would do, how to do it, and even if they had a rough idea they wouldn't try because they'd be worried that it would just end up breaking.
For instance, around our support area I'm apparently something of a resident expert at removing malware (or so I'm told whenever they send me out to places I don't ordinarily respond to because the local tech is stumped). If the user whose computer I'm cleaning is present while I poke and prod and then surgically remove their infection, the topic of how I learned to do the seemingly arcane feats of technowizardry they are watching me perform tends to come up, and I always tell them that there was never a delineating point where I suddenly learned any ancient mystical secrets, I've just been sitting down and experimenting with and reading about the underpinnings of their OS for years. Consequently I'm familiar with how the system itself works, so I know roughly where to look when I need to figure out how any given piece of malicious software is launching, and all the previous infections I've had to purge mean that I'm rarely if ever surprised by how that particular infection insinuated itself into their system.
From my perspective, nothing I'm doing is particularly arcane or reliant on specialized knowledge, but I've spent essentially 20+ years now interacting with computers in ways that your average end user - who just wants to sit down, launch their programs that they need to run, and have it all work - hasn't. I tinker, experiment, improve - things like keeping your software up to date and instituting proper security measures are second nature to someone of my mindset, but users, unless its been driven into their heads that they have to, would probably never even try to do that, let alone consider why they should. Expecting what I consider basic computer maintenance from an end user would be a lot like asking them to "overclock their toaster-ovens" - they have no idea what that would do, how to do it, and even if they had a rough idea they wouldn't try because they'd be worried that it would just end up breaking.