One of the most ANNOYING things about being a savvy-twenty something in gen-Y (yes, I’m referring to myself), is teaching your…elders…to use technology. Most of us can agree, parents just don’t understand.
I applaud my mom, who is an integral member of the 21st century; she can type using all 10 fingers (unlike someone I know who sits behind me in the office…), and has an iPhone, which she especially adores for its iBird app, an application that helps you go birding by ear. She also signed up for a Facebook account, but usually complains about it saying:
“I don’t get it; Facebook sent me an email telling me exactly what Kathy wrote to me in a message, why can’t I just respond to this e-mail? Why do I have to go on Facebook?”
So I explain: “Because mom, it’s not about e-mailing, it’s about being able to interact on a more personal level with your friends and seeing their pictures and who else they’re talking with, et cetra, et cetra.”
“Oh, well, that seems stupid to me.”
Now my dad, on the other hand, he asked me to help him start a blog the other day. Okay dad, that’s pretty cool of you, welcome to 2011! So we set up his account, agree on a color palate, formatting style, title, etc. I had to help him a little bit on the aesthetic, only because he works in finance, so all of his written material GENERALLY LOOKS LIKE ONE BIG LONG PARAGRAPH STUCK IN CAPS LOCK SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE SCREEN IS YELLING AT YOU!
After a grueling, P-in-the-A 60 minutes, where I did not hide my annoyance by his lack of command key knowledge, my dad had officially started his own blog, complete with a Twitter account, which I also helped him set up and choose peeps to follow.
Exhausted by the process, I tweeted to anyone that cared (which was no one) “ugh, teaching parents technology is SO ANNOYING!” and felt reprieve. Minutes later, I had a reply tweet from my father.
#FML.
At first I was pissed I had to tutor a course on DIY blogging 101, now I’m pissed that parents are, in fact, integral members of the social cyber network.
Moral of the story: don’t underestimate your parents’ ability to finally enter the 21st century.
Posted by Hannah
#FML! I love it…
Well, at least you can say you taught him well…right?
Great post — and as a GenXer who also taught (still teaches) her mom Facebook, I can totally relate!
Ohhh, parents!
I’ve been there with mine. Enjoyed this post.
Certainly a gift!! I really enjoyed this post!
*Claps slowly, while nodding in recognition*
Well spoken good sir:
2 Grandmothers (1 didn’t take)
1 Mother (Still working on the cellphone situation)
1 Reluctant Step-father (3 swings-and-a-miss)
1 Exhausted person… (Me)
Let’s all hold hands and sing Kumbaya
Sure, parents are annoying, but just remember all the things they taught you growing up and how aggravating that must’ve been – like potty training and driving and everything in between.