There’s really no good way to brace yourself for something like this. You start your day like it’s any other, and then suddenly everything changes when you get the dreaded phone call. You repeatedly ask what’s going on and eventually understand the situation when your dad blurts out, “I got the iPhone 5.” Ah, parents and technology. A dynamic duo causing confusion, anxiety and entertainment for all.
Many of us here at Harding are in similar stages of life, and what’s scarier is that our parents are too. I’m not talking about any midlife crises or even empty-nest syndrome (though both should be addressed: a new car helps.) But more importantly, I’m talking about introducing them to modern technology.
I feel as if my parents have always been fairly tech-savvy but there were definitely some defining moments that got them to where they are today.
Introducing them to texting was a huge first step – for the first few months, I mostly just got messages from dad like,”hjdjskngjns,” and usually just translated that as “call me.” This system worked pretty well for a while and eventually he got it down. Now I only get messages like this occasionally because his fingers are too big for the buttons. “First world problems,” he tells me.
Next my mom decided to get on Facebook. This seemed pretty harmless from the beginning, but once she figured out how to comment on pictures, things went downhill pretty fast. She’s not quite the aunt that treats every picture like it’s the family newsletter, but I can guarantee that at any given time, she has at least 30 friend requests and will never ever know about them.
Then came YouTube. The first time I tried to show her a video, she used the Google search bar and then refused to click on any of the results. When I asked her why she wouldn’t click on the YouTube URL, she simply responded, “I don’t want to broadcast myself.” I told her I thought she would be pretty safe seeing as our computer didn’t have any kind of camera at the time.
Her most recent endeavor has been Twitter. One of my siblings tried explaining it to her, and she wanted in on that too. This led to a huge moment of panic when we informed her she had her first follower. Her eyes got wide as she exclaimed, “Following me where?”
Nothing beats her confusion, though, when Google started advertising apps. I’ll never forget the look she gave me as she closed out of an ad and said in disgust, “Ugh. I don’t know why anyone would want to buy an angry bird.”
Bless her little heart.
At least they are learning and providing quality entertainment in the meantime. So as your parents go through this stage, just be patient and remember that someday your child will be explaining everything to you. Then our generation will try to explain pagers and car-phones and make them equally confused.
Think back to the days of MySpace. I still don’t know who Tom is, why he wanted to be my friend, and most importantly, why he wouldn’t use a better profile picture. And if your MySpace days don’t bring you enough shame, then your AIM username will probably suffice.
Disclaimer: No parents’ feelings were harmed in the making of this column.
