There are many people out there who are at a certain age that means they didn’t grow up with technology, or at least the modern technology that we know and use today. Now, some of that older generation has managed to master technology nonetheless, but there are others who’ve yet to quite grasp it, and the results can often be hilarious. Here, we bring you 22 of the funniest things old people do with tech. Got any examples to add? Let us know your stories in the comments section below or on Twitter.
They sign texts and Facebook messages/comments with their name.
They think that LOL stands for Lots Of Love.
That’s if they can actually manage to add any content at all into their text (here’s a history of my text messages from my wonderful Nan).
Then, when they call you on your mobile, they say “Hi, it’s Nan here,” even though you knew that already because there’s this thing called caller ID.
Techworld’s Sam Shead says that, if he doesn’t answer his phone when his Dad calls, he’ll leave a message that says: “Hello, it’s John Shead here, calling at 7:30pm on Sunday 12 March.” I know Dad. My phone told me already.
They tend to turn off their phones and tablets when they aren’t using them, but then they miss any incoming phone calls or messages.
A real life example from PC Advisor editor Jim Martin is when an older relative answered her new mobile phone and said “But how did you know I was here?” forgetting that mobile phones, unlike landlines, are not tethered to your house.
They refer to searching for something on the internet as ‘getting it off the computer’
They blame you for deleting the internet if you remove the shortcut to their browser from their desktop.
Or, if they didn’t know the shortcuts existed in the first place, they think you’re magic when you use them to launch an app.
One woman even thought her kids were changing the Google home page every day (it was just the daily Google Doodle).
They always forward on jokes and scam warnings and other chain emails that they receive.
They also use email from only one laptop (it blows their minds when we show them they can access their webmail on another PC).
Some even print out emails to read them.
They befriend you on Facebook and then embarrass you by butting into conversations
Then they like hundreds of your Facebook pictures in one go so that you (or another victim) get hundreds of repeated notifications.
Sometimes, they write completely illegible Facebook statuses like this one:
They spend half the evening walking around and around in a tiny garden to increase the number of steps on their pedometer instead of going out for a walk like a normal person.
Macworld Editor Karen Haslam’s cousins (who are currently in their 80s) were told that their car came with a ‘computer’ and thought that meant there was a laptop built in.
Even better, her Dad used to play his iTunes downloads on his computer and record them onto a dictating machine someone sold him for £80 before he was shown how to put his songs onto his iPhone.
One of my friends recently revealed that she found her mum rewinding a DVD once she’d finished it like you had to with VCR, because she wanted to make sure it was ready for the next person who watches it.
My Nan once lost her keys so she went out and purchased a little Whistle Key Finder gadget and held it in her hand as she whistled, expecting her keys to somehow show themselves. Of course, the idea is actually to attach the gadget to your keys before you lose them. Ashleigh is Tech Advisor’s Head of Affiliate. Providing expert buying advice you can trust is her forte, helping you to find the most reputable consumer tech products and services, and ensuring you don’t spend a penny more than you should.
