Parents and Technology

My parents are useless with anything remotely technological. Computers, printers, cameras, mobile phones, iPods … you name it, they can’t use it! Over the Christmas holidays, my parents had to ask me repeatedly how to take a photograph on their mobile phones because they kept forgetting or getting stuck. Other times, they would ask how to open a new tab on their internet page. And don’t get me started on Facebook!! Recently, to keep in contact whilst I am abroad, my Mum decided to create a Facebook page. In my opinion, parents should not have Facebook if they can’t use it, and should NEVER be ‘friends’ with their children! My Mum only has 11 ‘friends’ - two of them are myself and my sister! - and she ‘likes’ and comments on EVERYTHING we do - it drives me crazy! When I arrived at home for the Christmas holidays, my Mum presented me with a list of things she needed me to help her with on her computer before I left. Number one on this list was ‘how do I make a folder to put word documents in?” - something I learned at primary school! My Mum has also recently heard of the ‘selfie’ and attempted to take a few over Christmas and New Year to prove that she is ‘down with the kids’ - an expression meaning that she is cool and up-to-date. However, she regularly forgets how to change the camera focus so it is facing towards her, and her finger is often covering the lens! She also often moves the camera when she takes a photo so that they come out blurry. Her favourite mistake is to accidentally change the function to video, so when she looks back at her ‘photos’, you can see her standing still and smiling for a few seconds, followed by her voice saying ‘oh dear, I’ve done it wrong again!’ It makes me laugh a lot, and luckily my friends have similar problems with their parents and technology!!! Sometimes I get annoyed when my Mum asks me (for the hundredth time!) how to do something on her computer. but I try to stay patient and help her. She has now started to ask my sister for help too, so she isn’t constantly asking me!!