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Old people and technology ... (rant alert!)


XmisterIS
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Up until now, my Mother (who is 75 - which isn't really that old nowadays), has been getting on the bus to go into the branch, in person, to do her banking, a round trip which takes about 2 hours. Now they've cut that particular route, so she would need to take two busses each way and she doesn't want to do that.


So I set up internet banking for her. I have set her computer up so all she needs to do is go to the login screen, enter her security code and password, then click "login", and that's it ... voila! Logged in. I even showed her how to do it about five times.


This morning, I got an email saying "I got an error to the password code, saying it couldn't do it". (note her use of language - complete babbling nonsense).


So I sent her a reply spelling out in painfully simple detail exactly which keys on the keyboard to press.


Her reply: "But it won't do the password code, I did the keyboard presses but it just does an error to the password code. I don't think you've set it up right. What have you done to my computer?"


So now, mildly irritated at having been blamed for her immense stupidity, I sent her an actual screenshot of the login screen, annotated with arrows showing what to type in where, then click "login".


Her reply: "I pressed login on the thing you sent but nothing happened. I tried again and again, but nothing happened. Oh I can't do this, why is it so complicated?".


Yes, ladies and gentlemen, she actually sat there repeatedly clicking on the login button in a JPEG image and wondering why nothing was happening.


I very nearly sent an email back saying, "Give up. Just sell your computer and go back to rubbing two sticks together to make fire".


I swear, never in all my born days have I met anyone else who is actually incapable of filling in two text boxes and then clicking on a button.


The galling thing is that she's not actually stupid, she just doesn't do things in a considered fashion - she just randomly clicks on things impulsively without thinking about it. It's not old age, she's always been like that, and it drives me NUTS!!!! :bang:


(rant over).

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I know what you mean.

The amount of times my Mum managed to change the source on her remote for the tele.

I even had to go on the internet and try to find her remote control buttons so I could tell her how to get it back on hdmi.


And when they moved to be nearer me and my girlfriend as my Dad was ill.

Changing their address for the bank was a nightmare on the phone as my dad had Alzheimers and my Mum is nearly deaf.


My Mum is 85 and has had to go into a home and she has turned into the Nan on the Catherine Tate show.

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After decades you now know how she felt when she showed you a million times how to tie your shoelaces and you still mucked it up... Her younger self would be laughing right now I reckon :lol:

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Call I got the other day


'Can you remember how to save addresses on my sat nav?'


Bearing in mind I'm miles away, at work, and it's at least 6 months since I even sat in her car never mind played with the sat nav


:hammer:

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Yes, ladies and gentlemen, she actually sat there repeatedly clicking on the login button in a JPEG image and wondering why nothing was happening.

 

Lol, I work in London and i've had fund managers in global asset management companies, responsible for billions of pounds worth of peoples investments do exactly that. so shes not alone.

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one day you WILL be old and your young one will say the same thing about you being a silly old Knob.

so bare this in mind.

the times when we taught our kids how to do this and that and still give them advice.

it took 30 years on average to learn from your parents.

and in old age a few short years less than 30 your old grey matter doesn't absorb things so well.

so folks its not just wrinkles we gain ,we lose the ability to do most things when when we were young.

so before you start to criticise your old folks with not being able to grasp things as easy as you.

TAKE NOTE OF ALL THE THINGS THEY DID FOR YOU IN YOUR TIME OF NEED NOW ITS YOUR TURN.

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But the up side of being old is. I know these band's first time round, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Genesis, The Who. And all the rest. So when the grand children come round. It's Grand Dad, turn that F'en music down. Have to smile.

John933

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Just set up the microsoft 'remote assistant' and next time you can log onto her machine and 'sort it' for her.


:cheers:

 

Tried that ... oh boy! :roll:

 

Ha! I like that and the OP still cant tie his shoe laces :lol:

 

I do actually only own one pair of lace-up shoes ... the rest are slip-on, zip or velcro :wink:

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the rest are slip-on, zip or velcro :wink:

 

You're off the F**king chain!

 

http://www.extremesupply.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/600x600/alpinestars/alpinestars_boots/alpinestars_webgoretex_boots_black.jpg


Velcro :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


(those are my actual boots ... well, not my actual *actual* boots, but I actually have a pair of those actual boots, although they're not actually those actual ones ...)

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Ahh obviously you mean motorbike boots... Now it's obvious you obviously meant the obvious use of velcro and zips on the boots rather than on your shoes obviously. :lol:


Is the mother all sorted now with her pc?

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My old man has done the same thing with a JPEG I annotated for him to help him buy something on Amazon.


My 90 odd year old gran is a legend though. She will watch Rugby on S4C (Welsh language channel) with English subtitles (she forgot how to speak Welsh properly before I was even born) but then if you ask her what is going on she will tell you she is watching a Western and proceed to take you through the plot of an old John Wayne film (with amazing accuracy, barring the fact it's not what she is watching). She also randomly gives people cheques thinking they are my brother and that it is his birthday.

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My dad passed away last year at 83 years old......but right to the end the grandkids used to bring their b*ggered up laptops to him for repair!! He had more laptops and pc's that he had repaired or was repairing than you could shake a stick at........he had a couple of Raspberry PI's that he tinkered with......programmed PIC chips for various electronic projects he was building or had built.......knew the best antivirus programmes available.......had a subscription to Computer Active........ mates less than half his age would phone up or pop round for help with their computers.......the tablet I'm typing this on was one of his recommendations........much more than just a silver surfer...... 8-)

My mum on the other hand is the complete opposite...... :lol: :lol:

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Xmister - sounds like your mum is defeatist and annoying haha! I hand wrote and drew my nan instructions for her why pad....


I'm staying over at hers on Friday actually to help her with it more - she has been going to lessons at Bromley College and with the Church Club to learn how to use it :lol: ...I spent 2 hours solid with her showing her emails and YouTube a couple of weeks ago and she's actually getting it - she said she learnt more with me than anyone else, hence me going back to show her more and will sign her up to Facebook so she can see family photos etc...really impressed with her.


Bearing in mind my nan is 73 and has never typed on a keyboard before and I think iPads are way more annoying/difficult to use cos you have to be careful how you press them etc...I'm pretty damn impressed with her! I am actually going to the Church Club IT group with her at 10am on Saturday morning too...will be surrounded by IT impaired holy oldies! Wish me luck!!! :mrgreen: :lol:


Here's wishing you good luck too - try not to strangle her if you can!


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That's precisely the problem: tangos old man, compared to my defeatest mother! She has always been like that for as long as I can remember. Compare that to my mother in law who is 71, only got a computer at the age of 60 and now goes to adult ed classes to learn to program in Visual Basic, just to keep her mind active.

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So I stayed at my nan's and went to the church group free IT lessons (and complimented the nice guy giving his time up to help these small groups of oldies!). She can now use Youtube, search for things on Google and search for images on there, and use email. Facebook is a bit too advanced atm I think - also briefly showed her podcasts for Radio 4 and downloaded The Archers omnibus and some other old people shows for her :mrgreen: ...she's doing well! Though I realised I can only send her one email at a time - she couldn't find the second of the 2 I sent her this morning haha!


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I'm sure it'd be more tricky if it was something she relied on, like online banking though :shock:


Have you given up now Xmister?

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10891971_1550362601898594_300215427162337212_n.jpg.52da369a24a215117734b20b3116d261.jpg

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Yes, I have now given up!!

 

Funniest question from the IT help group was the lady on the right who didn't understand how they put the books inside the Kindle

 

That reminds me, when I gave my mother her first PC, she phoned me up to ask, "Do I need a new internet if I want to send emails?" I have no idea how she reached that conclusion.


Also, to this day, she refuses to believe that it is possible to send an email from any device with a mail client or web browser. She insists that she can only send emails from her home computer. I have no idea why.

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Yes, I have now given up!!

 

Funniest question from the IT help group was the lady on the right who didn't understand how they put the books inside the Kindle

 

That reminds me, when I gave my mother her first PC, she phoned me up to ask, "Do I need a new internet if I want to send emails?" I have no idea how she reached that conclusion.


Also, to this day, she refuses to believe that it is possible to send an email from any device with a mail client or web browser. She insists that she can only send emails from her home computer. I have no idea why.

 


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!


God help you!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I would just give up if I were you tbf :lol:


My nan posted on Facebook all by herself in the week about having a lovely Chinese meal...an hour before she sent me an email just saying FACEBOOK - I think she thought she was searching for it! I then got an email saying she has had friend requests from a lady from church, and 3 family members, 'one of which is a man but for some reason he is dressed as a lady'...yeah, sounds like one of our family members! :mrgreen:

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My gran (82 i think), loves being able to email me when I am working away. Usually just boring chat about gardens, tv shows, books or such - but it gives her a huge amount of pleasure.


In fact she emailed me specially last week to say that she had managed to find BBC Good Food website, and was able to put her laptop in the kitchen to follow the recipe...how clever!! :lol: :lol:


I live in fear of her asking me to set her up with a facebook account :shock:

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My mother is 75 and doesn't own a computer and has no interest at all in having one.

She bought a mobile phone a few years back but only turned it on on the rare occasions she remembered to take it out with her and she wanted to make a call. Then as soon as she finished the call she'd turn the phone off again.....

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Popped round to my Dads a while ago & I can see all the windows are wide open with smoke wafting out, I think this is gonna be bad, so, he's got a microwave Christmas pud that wants 45 seconds & given it 45 minutes !

KIlled the microwave too :shock:

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My Dad 71 at the time and had recently had another heart attack episode.

Decides he wants to go the football. An away game in the play offs a couple of year back. I was on nights so couldn't go.

I booked him onto an official coach ( mates were on the ale) and gave him very clear instructions to answer his mobile so I knew he was alright! !!!!

Long story short.

By half time, after trying to ring him since the coach set off I had to phone one of the lads to find him in the away end to see if he was there!!!!

Reason for non answering of phone. Didn't know how to..

I was a little worried to say the least

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I wonder what tech we will struggle with when we are old??

Imagine this thread in 50years time..

"I got home and found dad playing with the replicator machine, trying to create new bits for his old motorbike...stupid old fool forgot to initilise the dilithium warp drive crystals and ended up creating Chinese parts made from cheese!!"

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