If you are of a certain age, then you will be familiar with the experience of returning home, perhaps for the holidays, and immediately being forced into becoming the family IT person. There are always new devices to set up, routers to set up and strange questions about the internet to try and answer. However, the truth is that you are by no means the first to have this sort of trial at home.
Someone asked “Older people, what was the equivalent of teaching your grandparents to use the internet, when you were growing up?” and netizens gave their best answers. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote the best examples and be sure to add your own thoughts to the comments below.
#21
Here's a really old one ... my dad, who would be 102 if he were still alive, grew up on a farm. When his dad got their first tractor he couldn't figure out the manual shifter so he would make my dad sit on his knee and shift gears for him while he drove.
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20points
#22
Just using a regular computer before the internet existed..
okay dad, to get into the part where you use your mouse you type win from this dos prompt
THAT'S TOO HARD!
so I put win in the autoexec.bat file, I was also 9 years old.
poor guy, still to this day I had to rename his chrome icon to USE THIS FOR INTERNET
okay dad, to get into the part where you use your mouse you type win from this dos prompt
THAT'S TOO HARD!
so I put win in the autoexec.bat file, I was also 9 years old.
poor guy, still to this day I had to rename his chrome icon to USE THIS FOR INTERNET
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20points
#23
I saved up and bought my parents the first Sharp Carousel Microwave oven.
...
It sat there, on the kitchen counter, for months, untouched. My mother was so scared of it that she threw the equivalent of a tantrum. She would never walk in front of it, even when off and would always unplug it.
It wasn't until she gossiped to her friends that "my son got us this dreadful appliance" that they convinced her it was the best thing in the world for reheating food, and that it was harmless with numerous safety features. Several of them said the Sharp model was the best and safest out there! (oh she wouldn't listen to her family of reason, but trust the ladies at the *hair saloon*--no question there!)
From then on, we had leftovers all the time. Or microwave meals. RIP mom, you couldn't cook to save your life, but you could at least make microwave meals in minutes!
edit- typo-it should read "*hair salon*" but ya know what, who cares!
...
It sat there, on the kitchen counter, for months, untouched. My mother was so scared of it that she threw the equivalent of a tantrum. She would never walk in front of it, even when off and would always unplug it.
It wasn't until she gossiped to her friends that "my son got us this dreadful appliance" that they convinced her it was the best thing in the world for reheating food, and that it was harmless with numerous safety features. Several of them said the Sharp model was the best and safest out there! (oh she wouldn't listen to her family of reason, but trust the ladies at the *hair saloon*--no question there!)
From then on, we had leftovers all the time. Or microwave meals. RIP mom, you couldn't cook to save your life, but you could at least make microwave meals in minutes!
edit- typo-it should read "*hair salon*" but ya know what, who cares!
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20points
#24
When I was around 12 my parents got my grandparents a cassette player. This was not new technology by any means, but my Nana and Grandad had only ever listened to the radio or records, so it was new to THEM. My parents gave them some tapes to listen to (I think I may even have made them a mix tape of some of their old favourites), but when they first plugged the cassette player in my grandparents just turned it on, pressed 'play' (with no tape inside) and watched the little wheels turn. It was like magic to them, they were so delighted by the whole thing.
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18points
#25
According to my Nan, it was teaching my great-great-grandmother how to use a toaster that you don't need to turn the bread in
17points
#26
My father (born 1922) told me his grandfather refused to believe in radios, he figured someone was pulling his leg.
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17points
#27
Microwaves. My dad bought my grandparents a microwave. First day grandpa puts a metal pot in it with tin foil on top and it fried it. Day 2 microwave 2, grandma puts her socks in to warm them up. Socks got burnt because she set it for 10 minutes, day 3 microwave 2, we gave them a lecture of how to use microwaves and how they work, grandma puts a sealed Tupperware in and it melts then explodes. Coating the inside with plastic and food. Total loss. Day 4 microwave 3, they say thank you and we appreciate it but it is too complicated for us. We kept the mic for ourselves and got them a new tv instead. They still got up to change the channel. The remote was too complicated for them.
15points
#28
My dad tried to turn my CDs over like records in the early 90s.
13points
#29
Teaching my parents how to hook up the Atari to the TV. My dad could hook up a VCR and use it, my mom couldn't, but neither could do the Atari. Plus, I was also small enough to fit behind the TV without them needing move anything...wait....
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13points
#30
Debit Cards.
Like, how to actually pay by card and withdraw at an ATM.
Like, how to actually pay by card and withdraw at an ATM.
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9points