According to Paquette, the creator of 'IT Humor and Memes,' adaptability is crucial in the fast-evolving field of IT. "Technologies and best practices change rapidly, and being open to learning and embracing new tools or methods is essential," he told Bored Panda.
It's vital that IT professionals don't become too set in their ways, otherwise, the industry is apt to leave them behind. "This includes the 'I only have a hammer, so everything is a nail' mentality; aka: OS [operating system] bias," Paquette shared.
"Critical thinking and problem-solving skills also stand out as vital, helping professionals efficiently tackle challenges and innovate. Moreover, a collaborative mindset is beneficial given the typically project-based nature of IT work, where teamwork can significantly impact project success." He added that resilience and a good sense of humor are also a big plus because they help IT pros navigate high-pressure moments better.
Bored Panda was curious to get Paquette's thoughts on how AI might affect IT workers in the future. After all, many employees in various industries are low-key worried that they might be replaced at some point, leaving them out of a job.
"As we've seen in the past year, the integration of Generative AI tools in the workplace is causing some anxiety about job security. Word to the wise for the decision makers: AI is not the silver bullet, cost-cutting Pangaea many companies tout it to be. At least not yet," Paquette warned.
"AI still makes mistakes, also called hallucinations. Lots of hallucinations. Always check what comes out from your question before pasting the answer someplace else," he advised everyone.
In Paquette's opinion, in many cases, AI is more likely to "augment the capabilities of IT professionals rather than replace them." He told Bored Panda that, for instance, "AI can handle repetitive tasks, data analysis, and even some levels of customer service, which can free up IT employees to focus on more complex, creative, or strategic tasks that require human oversight."
On top of that, there's a growing demand for professionals who can develop, maintain, and manage AI tools. This, according to Paquette, could lead to new job opportunities in the IT sphere. "Emphasizing continuous learning and adaptability will be key for IT professionals to leverage AI as a tool for enhancing their roles rather than viewing it as a threat."
Statista reports that there were 5.44 billion internet users around the world as of April 2024. At the time, this amounted to 67.1% of the entire population of Earth. The vast majority of these internet users are also social media users: they comprise 5.07 billion people or 62.6% of the global population.
Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates embraced internet technology the most. As of April 2023, 99% of their population used the internet. On the other hand, barely anyone has internet access in North Korea.
Asia ranks first globally, with over 2.93 billion internet users. In second place is Europe, with around 750 million users.
Internet use is the most widespread among young individuals between 15 and 24 years of age, no matter what part of the world we’re talking about. Meanwhile, internet access is closely correlated with a country’s income level. For example, 92% of the population of high-income countries use the internet. Compare that to barely 26% of the population of low-income nations.
The ‘IT Humor and Memes’ community will be celebrating its 5th birthday in late May. The group has grown massive over the years. At the time of writing, it boasts nearly 1.5 million IT-loving members from all corners of the planet. It’s continuing to grow at an impressive pace, too. Just last week, 6k new members joined the community. If you enjoyed this community's content as much as we did, consider joining up, too.
According to the team running ‘IT Humor and Memes,’ the group is meant to be a “small corner in the big Facebook world” for the sake of letting off a little steam. In short, it’s all about escapism and having a bit of fun.
However, the team points out that humor is a very subjective thing. Many of us have a different sense of humor. So, there will be moments when something that we find utterly hilarious might not get the audience cracking up.
On the flip side, someone’s jokes might not land with us either. There will also be times when you need very specific IT knowledge or context to ‘get’ the joke.
Something to keep in mind is that ‘IT Humor and Memes’ is a public group. Anything that you post or comment there is going to be visible to your family, friends, and coworkers on Facebook.
In other words, it’s a reminder to be kind and courteous to everyone. What’s more, the team running the group has created a rule that an account has to be at least 1 month old to participate in the community. Simply put, the group is so big that there’s a backlog of pending posts.
During a previous interview with Bored Panda, the creator of ‘IT Humor and Memes,’ Paquette, told one of our colleagues about the roots of the group.
“I created the group when I realized there was a lack of general IT meme groups. The keyword there is ‘general.’ There were developer/programmer groups, the odd networking group, a few hacker groups, but no general IT ones I could find. The posts I submitted to an IT support group tended to get lost in all of the great support questions being asked. So, I thought, ‘Why not start a general IT humor group?’” Paquette said.
