Technologically Inept Parents

[UnkeptBiscuit]

My dad's alright, he uses Skype to videochat with relatives back in Brazil. His only problem is being completely unable to figure out videogames, although he did seem to understand and appreciate Fallout 3's backstory. My mom, on the other hand, can't even replicate something I showed her how to do on the computer just 2 minutes prior. It's especially strange because she's a really fast learner in other things, just she's completely technologically inept. I'm proud of her though, she's taking the initiative of inheriting my old iPhone. It hasn't happened yet, and she's probably going to crash and burn, but I'm hoping for the best.

 

[dalek sec]

I'm pretty much the frakking local techpriest for my mother and grandparents, it's very tiring after a while since they don't even bother to try and learn the fucking machine in question. *sighs* Sometimes it really does make me want to scream.

 

[Free Thinker]

My mom is surprisingly computer savvy. She works with Windows 7 and learns the crap before I can get my hands on it.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

My mom is pretty computer savy, though the truth is that she's been working with computers since she was pretty young. My dad has a somewhat harder time with tech stuff, but he can still get the basics down.

As for why it is that the older generation has a hard time grasping technology, those younger of us really do have a leg up. When we learn things, we're creating neural pathways and the more times we repeat the thing, the stronger that neural pathway becomes. But neural pathways are a lot easier to develop when you're young. The older you get, the harder it becomes to develop those neural pathways. It's not to say (if I may use a time worn metaphor) that one can't teach an old dog new tricks, but the young dog will learn new tricks faster and remember them better. So, give your parents a break, if they haven't been using computers and other technology since they were young, there is actually a biological reason for which it's harder for them to pick up than it is for you. However many years down the road, your kids will be using crazy hologram-shit with a neural interface, and you and I will look just as stupid as we think our parents do now.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

Well my mom has an office job so she's decent enough with computers to use MS Office programs and browse the internet easily. My dad however... not so much. He rarely touches any sort of technology and does not seem to understand any of it very well. I am the one who's called on to fix technology problems in my house.

 

[Dectomax]

Good to know I'm not the only one..

I usually end up being made to stroll over to the office to fix the network...or to show my parents how to use something.

When we moved house and got the new wireless connection...well, lets just say that was interesting...

My Dad's horrible with computers, he struggles with basicly anything, yet he's a professional photographer and he can use photoshop like you can't believe, yet searching the interent, using MS: Office or anything else...he just ends up rage-quitting 5 minutes into using it lol

 

[Deviltongue]

My Dad is pretty tech Savvy, my mom shouldn't be around electronics and my brother shouldn't be allowed outside without a helmet.