In this day and age i feel like you need to have at least a basic understanding of technology and how to use it and not be afraid of it. I dont know how many times I’ve heard they shouldn’t expect older people to learn these confusing new things. When in fact if you did it would open up whole new hobbies for you. Connections made easier for friends and family too, being independent is more than just living by yourself you know. And the internet while full of absolute shit at times also actually holds tons of useful and factual information that they could use.
I could’ve probably said that better but for the most part this
I know there’s a learning curve but that’s true with everything and yeah if they need someone to teach them and they dont have anyone I could imgaine it woukd be hard to find someone but there are people out there that would help.
Comments
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
Repeat
I wish this text could’ve been written in cursive
Very uneducated opinion. Take my up vote.
“There are people out there that would help” who?
you have people at 80 still shoveling the snow off their driveways because they have no one to help them. You under estimate how hard it is to have a community and to have a support system. I feel that at 30 with really no one around me.
I worked help desk in IT for years and I swear a lot of them actively avoid trying to learn anything new. I mean I kind of understood back then in the late 90s, early 2000s when 60 year olds would say “I didn’t grow up with this” but the internet and the home computer have been mainstream for 30+ years at this point. No excuse.
Enjoy this moment OP because in the future it will be you.
As an older person who can learn lots of new things it is a choice to not care about the latest and greatest thing.
You’re not wrong. The onus is always on the individual to improve and keep up with modern trends, right? Stay current and plugged in?
I also assume that when you’re 70 you’ll be totally okay with completely diverging from everything you’ve learned and absorbed in your life to jump onto the middle of whatever fast-flowing technological/social river predominates at the time – and instantly be at ease in it – even if you loathe it, see the myriad flaws in it and can discern no personal upside.
I feel this way about old people who are bad drivers, even though I know it isn’t fair because of cognitive decline and slower reflexes and stuff. The hater in my head is still like “grandpa, you’ve had fifty years of practice at this and you’re this bad??”
Fair enough, but what about older people who don’t need all the fancy happenings on the internet? Most that I’ve known prefer books, talking to others, the newspapers, that sort of stuff for information. It’s not that it’s just a difficult slope to climb, but that they don’t need it.
My grandma only has a phone for texting the family, and she understands it as an instant letter. Her past times include baking, talking with one of her hundreds of children/grandchildren who are over, calling family, making puzzles, attending church, reading, listening to radio, etc.
Really, the internet isn’t necessary for her lifestyle, and nobody expects her to adapt. She’s led a successful life, let her do as she likes.
My 86 year old grandmother can text better and faster than some people my age. She teaches herself things, takes notes and doesn’t give up.
At my work, clients who haven’t booked online have to just quickly put thier first and last name down on an ipad.
You should see that absolute fits they go into, saying it’s not right, they shouldn’t have to do this, saying they don’t like devices and don’t know how they work! Then when I eventually do it for them, they sit down and immediately pull out a touch screen phone!
I think it’s weaponised incompetence
Younger people should understand punctuation, capitalization, complete sentences, and paragraphs. How about that? They’ve been around a whole lot longer than the internet and smart phones.
I agree, but to a limit. My grandmother passed 2 years ago at 94, and she never had a smartphone nor used the Internet more than a handful of times.
I think it’s ok that people her age, at this stage in technology, are not deeply embedded into it.
My wife is a teacher, a lot of her young students don’t have a clue about basic computing aside from editing selfies and using social media.
MFs inhaled leaded gasoline for most of their lives, give them a break
In this day and age no but if they are still largely incompetent with devices in 30-40 years from now then we’ll talk because they will be people born in the 1980s and 1990s.
Look… these people see a world where everything is constantly changing at a rapid rate. They already have all this life experience knowing how to do things without technology. Why start out as a noob? Over and over and over again. They don’t want to know it because they’re already pro’s doing things the way they already know and are comfortable with. Let them live, man. You’ll be that way sometime soon, too.
It’s funny because older generations like to say they know how to work hard and not give up, but put any technology in front of them and so many of them just immediately throw their hands up and say it’s impossible for them to learn.
Yes, because a lot of these “older people” were the ones who created all of those systems and devices.
I started using computers 52 years ago. I have learned a host of now defunct languages and programs. I’ve also studied why people don’t use technology. It’s not only age, it’s inadequate wi-fi and/or cell service and disabilities inadequately accommodated online, and especially on cell phones. Further, redundant systems are often useful, as you know if you’ve ever had to call customer service for software, or if you have a problem a bot can’t handle.
YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY BOTHERS ME?!
sorry about the caps lock but this honestly pisses me off.
We let these people drive cars.
But apparently they “can’t see” the perfectly visible credit card machine 10 inches away from their body asking if they want to leave a tip or skip and leave no tip in broad daylight at 2 in the afternoon with the sun shining through the high glass windows and the artificial lights also overhead.
What do you mean you can’t fucking see? I’ll accept that if I didn’t also have to accept the fact that you DROVE A CAR TO MY FUCKING JOB IN ORDER TO PLACE THIS ORDER AT ALL. How many people did you run over on the way here or did you just magically only lose your eyesight in the past 5 minutes?
In my perfect United States of America the day you turn 70 they take your license away and you never get it back. Want to drive? Go to Europe.
lmao. My mother is 93. She’d be happy to teach you a few things about technology so that YOU can be competent.
I used to think that, but I’m not yet 40 and I’m tired of learning new things. I don’t want to figure out the latest app and gadget. I want to be peaceful and drink my tea in peace and if my refrigerator starts talking to me I’m moving.
When I was 20, it made sense that people older than 65 couldn’t learn how to use technology.
Now that I’m almost 40, I’m wonder what the hell is wrong with this same age group when they can’t figure anything out. When the internet and cellphones became ubiquitous, they were only like in their early 50s.
Devil’s advocate here. The older people tend to be digital technology impaired because they tend to have more real hobbies and connections. Over say video games, simulators, and E-thots
Older people refuse to change their ways because they insist because they’re old they know everything which ironically they don’t. A lot of them are too stubborn to change their ways because they’re comfortable as they are. I live with my 80 year old fiancé’s grandma and she is not the most intelligent person in terms of logic so maybe this feels personal, but most of it is their choice not wanting to make the effort to learn or change.
[Grampa Simpson shaking fist at a cloud]
my opinion:
THIS POST SHOULD BE REMOVED!
It has always been insane to me how my father could break down a car engine and rebuild it but could not figure out how to to use a smart tv remote
We literally all had to learn this shit. They act like us younger folks were born with special abilities.
How old are you? I’m 42 and technology has started to challenge me.
Many if not most older people past a certain age really do have difficulty learning new things. I learned this, with much frustration and not enough patience, with my parents as they aged. Sometimes it’s just the decades of living and their brains are wired a certain way and have become electrically less resilient. Sometimes it’s due to age-related cognition issues even if minor. You’ll find out someday, maybe. In the meantime, get off your ageist soapbox.
To be fair the interfaces change very fast. I’m in my 30s and tech is simpler but harder to understand all the time. The functions someone my age expects are not there anymore but I can share a picture of my desktop or penis much faster now.
The days of grandma never seeing computers are coming to the end. Hell, my mother and her sister , both in their 80s, know how to use web sites on their phones. They know how to use the measuring app, some games , and camera. They’re not super tech but know enough to use them and several apps. And literally 88 and 86.
People are now hiding that they’re just stupid, not old, if they don’t understand basic tech.
No.
Not everyone should if they don’t want to.
My parents don’t have cell phones nor do they want them. My dad has an email account for certain things but barely uses it. He doesn’t want email.
Wait till you get old and see how that goes, then go back and say it.
I’d be happy if half the old people who come into our computer store didn’t smell like poo.
and i mean that literally.
The number of people aged 60+ who have an air of poo around them is shocking.
This is what they call “weaponized incompetence.”
Anyone who works in an office/corporate setting knows at least one person who’s like this. Lol
I was given a project at work because the guy who it was originally given too said he wasn’t comfortable using excel and so my boss asked me to just put it together so he could add on to it. It was literally just data entry for vendors, putting in names and addresses. I finished it and sent it over and told him all he has to do is click the next box below and it’ll automatically format it and then he just fills it in. He came to my desk and made me show him how to do that.. I had to show him how to click on a box… he kept talking about how excel wasn’t around when he started working blah blah blah. Bro it’s literally just clicking and typing I’m not asking you to do formulas, you’re just incompetent.
These things are in no way new. If they just didn’t want new hobbies who cares. The problem is they’ve actively chosen not to be functional adults.
Devil’s Advocate here. A lot of older people have arthritic hands that make it difficult to use electronics.
They were literally alive when these things were invented
I really like the different perspectives and its frustration on both ends. Old or young, this era and that era. Some people are tech savvy and some are not. Some are willing and intrigued, some people just simply don’t care. Language and technologies change over time. No matter how much tech advances or may collapse at some point in time…who knows? Either way we’re always going to be frustrated with each other with anything. The extra wait in line when an elderly person is writing a check opposed to using a card but hey 🤷♂️ what else can we do?
Given how susceptible many older people are to propaganda, maybe we shouldn’t fight them not getting on the internet.
My god as a xennial I have to help my boomer parents with their computer and devices and as well as my teenager. I’ve tried teaching them all basic trouble shooting but I suspect they are weaponizing impotence to get me to do things for them.
My about 90 year old grampa(don’t actually know his age because back then Chinese people didn’t keep track of birthdays) learned how to order online and pay with his phone last summer and some people at the grocery store were genuinely impressed. My elderly piano teacher is always learning and asking me for help using her phone.
I don’t have the heart to say it myself as I don’t know for sure but I do hope that others will help shine light on this topic.
It seems more to me that a lot of them really just don’t wanna break their comfort zone. Maybe they think it’s stressful?
Or maybe it’s that unlike us younger people who’ve spent lots of time communicating with strangers over the Internet they just haven’t been presented with a need to type that often on your smart phone or Computer that they learned to type and browse with enough speed that it could be anything but a stressful experience for them.
That’s just my take on this.
I for one am happy to say that I could honestly more easily write a book on my phone faster than I could ever possibly write with a pen or pencil lol
There’s a cute little 96 year old patient at my job and she is the cutest and most tech savvy older person I know . I couldn’t figure out how to contact her ride share (through insurance ) and she grabbed her big ol’ iPhone 15 and contacted them – as I was apologizing she was walking away with them on the phone telling me she “ handled it “ and that she would book her next appt “online “. Shes the cutest !
66 and in IT. Started in the Army servicing the Burroughs 84DM.
It’s always drove me nuts because my dad is older and he is a whizz with technology so it makes me seriously wonder why others can’t or won’t figure it out lol
Where do you draw the line? Do 90 yo’s need to be on IG?
My mum always says to me “how do people learn this stuff?“ when I show her how to do technology stuff. I reply that she’s been doing it all her life, learning things as she’s needed to know them.
You can remain ignorant or you can be willing to learn and make the effort to do so. If you try to learn and its still really hard to master, then either keep trying or get help.
Lol, seniors are stubborn AF. If they don’t want to learn, you’re not going to be able to teach them. I always help my parents with tech when they ask for it but my grandmother refuses no matter how many of her children, children in laws, and grand children try to teach her.
Many of us are. In fact more competent than some younger people because it’s been so dang long and everything is so easy these days. Most young people are competent with just the things they are interested in. I’ve been writing code since the 1980s. Being on social media is not the same as competent but a lot of people seem to think it is.
Back in the early 2000s, the 60yo tech-illiterate boomer was 35. The 80yo incompetent was 55. That’s NOT TO OLD TO LEARN. They’ve had decades to figure it out. There shouldn’t be ANY learning curve since they got to see the technology develop in real time and were around it even since it became widely used.
This!!
I found out a couple weeks ago that my mom doesn’t understand how to use Google to search for things…
… She’s only in her late 40s.
Google is literally the same age as me. Wtf
Well tbh you wouldn’t be here for the grandfather’s and them before them busting their hands in soil and dirt. We cry about IT they were actually ripping and breaking bones to get the job done. Never forget where we came from… Hard Workers
There’s not a learning curve. I’ve used technology for 60 years. I just keep using newer stuff.
I’m only 40 and I wish we could go back to landlines and writing checks. Not because I don’t understand the technology, I just actively hate it, and yes I understand I’m typing this on my phone lol. My eldest aunt thankfully had her flip phone down fine in her last years. I kinda miss having one of those myself.
I’ll give 2 anecdotes as counter arguments. The first is that a large percentage of younger people are incompetent. We recently (maybe not recent in real time, but recent in corporate time…about 2 years ago) switched our email provider at work to gsuite. Literally just branded gmail. Whole ass seminars had to be held for people that are all under 30 on how to access their email. Seminars, plural, because one wasn’t enough. Videos weren’t enough. Documentation wasn’t enough. And still, to this day get support request from young people unable to grasp gmail. They will put their username into the search box and then send a screenshot of the search results via text to support that email is broken, because it didn’t log them in.
Second is my parents. Their entire career was a locked down corporate environment. It’s not that they don’t understand tech, it’s that for 30 years of being supplied a computer, it was for corporate use. The idea of installing something is completely foreign, to them that’s an IT thing. They are very proficient at the apps they were allowed, the MS suite basically. But beyond that they’ve had little to no exposure, because they weren’t allowed to.
I get what you are saying but also younger people should be able to change oil in a car, do any repairs in a house, all yard work, and cook all meals.
Al I’m saying is people of every generation generally have skills that were needed during their life. Some generations it’s more physical labor/ trades. Some it’s more technical
Most older people do not have a problem with learning technology initially. It’s the fact that as soon as you learn it and get comfortable with it, the interface changes, they add more unnecessary features, and it becomes a true burden to navigate. User friendly isn’t a real thing.
You ever consider the fact that maybe it’s because THEY DONT WANT TO?
I actually know how this happens.
You see to young people time seems to move much slower. 5-10 years seems like an eternity. But as you age 5-10 years goes by scarily fast. You blink and all of the sudden so many years have gone by, and it keeps getting faster and faster.
So these people learn how to work with systems…and then they blink and suddenly everything they spent time learning is suddenly very very outdated. And they try to catch up, but time moves so fast for them, that they cant seem to keep up with all the sudden shifts and advances in technology.
And it will happen to you one day. Maybe not to as big of an extent. But eventually technology will advance faster than you keep up with it.
Luckily I went back to college to finish up a CS degree, and Ive always been techy. But I remember not knowing what Canvas and Discord was at one point, and feeling like I was 100 years old and confused and lost even though I was only in my early 30s. Not because im dumb or incapable, but because it was just the first time id seen it, and it was different than what I had been used to. And going back to programming, coding was mostly the same, but every single IDE was completely different and foreign to me after only being out of school for less than 10 years. Nothing was familiar or intuitive anymore. I adapted, but I wasn’t very old and my degree was in computer science. Now I know it all like the back of my hand…for now lol.
So I can only imagine what it would be like to be 60+, having no background in computers or tech, and have absolutely everything change on you ever 5 years or so.
Some are. I would say I know a few 60+80 year olds that are tech savvy.
It’s not like the internet or home computer is a new concept, either, it’s been around for generations. My aunt is 70, has been glued to her computer since the 90s, and still needs help doing basic things. I think some people find it easier to have others do it for them than learn.