goddamn old people and technology: a rant

[Danny]

So my gran had freeview installed today. never have i gotten such a fierce migraine from arguing with someone because of it.

This woman fears change. hates it. we installed freeview and the broken vhs player- surprise surprise still does not work.

she assumed it would.

she raged, she threw remotes at windows, called me a 'stupid c*nt' and wishes 'hell for the machine' and raged more than i ever knew she could.

why?

because i had the gall to tell her vhs was obsolete anyway and with freeviews multitude of channels and +1 channels she no longer has to tape one show whilst watching another and watch the other after. you can do it live from the box.

i have never seen someone get so angry about a technological advancement of a convenience that actually costs them no money and makes things easier. just because it was different.

She argued "everyone still uses vhs" when really i dont know anyone who even owns a vhs recorder except for her. i tried to explain with things like bbciplayer which she watches stuff on or dvd box sets you will never have the option to miss a tv show forever. it just can't be done.

but shes old. thats different, and it means change so she threw a fucking wobbler so bad my head is pounding with a migraine.

rant over. why the fuck do old people fear modern technology. like i have an older iphone, i cant do all the fancy shit my friends modern ones can, but i am happy with the modern conveniences that mine gives me, i dont throw a shitfit about the niche things it cant do.

[brer]

Be careful with your rant.

Some of us older folks can do tricks with tech that can make your head spin. Want me to set up your microwave to run off of your TV remote or something equally odd?

You have an older woman who is not used to everything changing. She has become comfortable with a certain setup and likes it. It has probably worked well for her for over 20 years.

Do your best to accommodate her and make her feel comfy with the new tech.

You know your grandkids are going to feel equally pissed at you when the omni net comes out and all your neural interfaces are obsolete, right?

[Tricky]

My Dad is a bit like that with PC's, he wont use them because he seems to have an irrational fear about wiping the entire thing at the wrong click of a button. The few times I've seen him using a computer at home, he's like a kid trying to ride a bike for the first time, and as soon as a pop up comes up or he accidently closes a page down, he panics! My mum is similar, she uses computers a lot at work and at home but despite that she's still very naive about them, she clicks pop ups instead of closing them, pays for pointless programs just because someone she works with says she needs it, & loads her computer up with junk which I have to tidy for her every now and again :rolleyes:
That said, my dad is very up to speed on digital tv, HD technology, blu ray & all that jazz, its just computers & mobile phones that baffle my parents!
Thats an extreme rant your Grans had though dude, bake her some space cakes to chill her out a bit :p

[AcesandEights]

It's frustrating, but look at it her from her perspective--she probably knows a bunch of other oldsters who think Blu-ray is a failed attempt by Tesla at creating a death beam.

[Kaos]

It's frustrating, but look at it her from her perspective--she probably knows a bunch of other oldsters who think Blu-ray is a failed attempt by Tesla at creating a death beam.

It isn't? Damn you, Nikola!

[Danny]

It's frustrating, but look at it her from her perspective--she probably knows a bunch of other oldsters who think Blu-ray is a failed attempt by Tesla at creating a death beam.

she doesnt though, thats the problem, she has a more modern smart phone than mine and uses it for more stuff than i do with my iphone, she has no problem with using bbciplayer or 4 on demand online she just flipped the fuck out at the idea of not being able to tape shows which she now has multiple chances to watch it because this is one thing she has decided to hate 'because its new and i dont like it'. for a normally very upto date and grounded woman its very irritating.

[bassman]

Sounds like grandma forgot to take her meds. :p

Some older people just don't like to move on, I guess. My old man couldn't find the recycle bin on a pc if you gave him ten minutes to look for it.

[Eyebiter]

Why torment the old gal that way? Just give her another VCR.

[JDFP]

I don't have an "irrational fear of technology" so much as I'm just old fashioned about some things. I just don't give a shit about some technological advances and have zero interest in it. As such, I understand where your grandmother is coming from completely. Her argument seems to be that the VCR has always worked for her and she's comfortable with it and understands it so prefers to stick with it. I completely understand where she's coming from because I don't want internet on my cellphone -- ever. I just don't need it and have no interest in doing it. For me, a telephone is for making phone calls and rarely using the .txt feature on it for people -- I have a computer if I want to do internet, I don't want it on a telephone becuase that's not a phone's purpose.

I think it's more a matter of being comfortable and somewhat stubborn as opposed to 'irrational' -- at least in my case. Just because this technological breakthrough comes through or technology advances in such and such way doesn't mean I have any interest in it at all. My great-grandmother who passed away in 1994 never had a microwave. The oven worked just fine for her and she had no interest in "nuking" food to eat it. Her reasoning may have been a bit irrational (afraid to 'nucleate' food as she called it) but it wasn't at all irrational for her to have no interest in getting a microwave. The oven worked just fine, thankya kindly, so why bother to upgrade when you already have something that accomplishes what you set out to do? Just because you can or it's "easier" for some people doesn't mean someone is irrational to not want to immediately latch onto the newest technological gadget.

j.p.

[acealive1]

my moms getting up there,but she embraces change. she catches on pretty fast

[Mr. Clean]

One of my uncles wouldn't replace his 8-track in his truck. That was in the late 90s but the truck ended up breaking down so he was forced to upgrade with the new vehicle. I can remember thinking "Who the hell is George Jones and ..... hey wait That was a damn good song, play it again.... what do u mean there's no rewind button? Where'd this piece of crap player come from...I've never seen one..."

lol bet my uncle wanted to kick my ass for more than one reason that day.

---------- Post added at 05:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------


I don't want internet on my cellphone -- ever. I just don't need it and have no interest in doing it. For me, a telephone is for making phone calls and rarely using the .txt feature on it for people -- I have a computer if I want to do internet, I don't want it on a telephone becuase that's not a phone's purpose.
j.p.

Preach on Brother JDFP, I just upgraded my phone recently and dodged that bullet. It was hard to find a phone that I liked without Internet but I managed.

[SymphonicX]

So my gran had freeview installed today. never have i gotten such a fierce migraine from arguing with someone because of it.

This woman fears change. hates it. we installed freeview and the broken vhs player- surprise surprise still does not work.

she assumed it would.

she raged, she threw remotes at windows, called me a 'stupid c*nt' and wishes 'hell for the machine' and raged more than i ever knew she could.

why?

because i had the gall to tell her vhs was obsolete anyway and with freeviews multitude of channels and +1 channels she no longer has to tape one show whilst watching another and watch the other after. you can do it live from the box.

i have never seen someone get so angry about a technological advancement of a convenience that actually costs them no money and makes things easier. just because it was different.

She argued "everyone still uses vhs" when really i dont know anyone who even owns a vhs recorder except for her. i tried to explain with things like bbciplayer which she watches stuff on or dvd box sets you will never have the option to miss a tv show forever. it just can't be done.

but shes old. thats different, and it means change so she threw a fucking wobbler so bad my head is pounding with a migraine.

rant over. why the fuck do old people fear modern technology. like i have an older iphone, i cant do all the fancy shit my friends modern ones can, but i am happy with the modern conveniences that mine gives me, i dont throw a shitfit about the niche things it cant do.

seems the problem in your case is she's unhappy not with the fact that her (metaphorical) iphone does less than before, but the fact that she's now inundated with options...something which must seem a little overwhelming at times.

At the same time - there's absolutely no excuse whatsoever for a grown woman to be throwing remotes, calling you a cunt, and acting basically like a spoilt child. That's well harsh, and if I was her I'd be looking to apologise for that outburst right now.

It doesn't matter what she's going through with this, the fact is, new technology may be a bit of a headache and a small mountain to conquer for an older person, but that no in way gives her licence to call you out like that and act that rotten.

[DjfunkmasterG]

My mother was the same way. I remember when I installed FIOS in my house and she came to live with me when her health began deteriorating rapidly. It took many arguments, screaming fits and her being pissed off before she understood the concept of how a cable box truly worked and how she could watch anything she wanted by pressing the ONDEMAND button.

Her biggest problem was using the HD only channels, she would use the 4:3 SD channels and the side bars burned into the plasma so bad it took 5 hours of screen burn correction to get rid of them.

She was never up on technology like she should have been, but she did take a interest in computers the last year of her life. She bought herself a laptop and tried learning how to use it, I helped her as much as I could but she wanted to trudge on her own and she got up to speed at her pace, but it was just weeks later she succumb to her illness, but at least she tried. However, the TV thing... that is one instance that is forever burned into my memory.

[Andy]

I don't have an "irrational fear of technology" so much as I'm just old fashioned about some things. I just don't give a shit about some technological advances and have zero interest in it. As such, I understand where your grandmother is coming from completely. Her argument seems to be that the VCR has always worked for her and she's comfortable with it and understands it so prefers to stick with it. I completely understand where she's coming from because I don't want internet on my cellphone -- ever. I just don't need it and have no interest in doing it. For me, a telephone is for making phone calls and rarely using the .txt feature on it for people -- I have a computer if I want to do internet, I don't want it on a telephone becuase that's not a phone's purpose.

I think it's more a matter of being comfortable and somewhat stubborn as opposed to 'irrational' -- at least in my case. Just because this technological breakthrough comes through or technology advances in such and such way doesn't mean I have any interest in it at all. My great-grandmother who passed away in 1994 never had a microwave. The oven worked just fine for her and she had no interest in "nuking" food to eat it. Her reasoning may have been a bit irrational (afraid to 'nucleate' food as she called it) but it wasn't at all irrational for her to have no interest in getting a microwave. The oven worked just fine, thankya kindly, so why bother to upgrade when you already have something that accomplishes what you set out to do? Just because you can or it's "easier" for some people doesn't mean someone is irrational to not want to immediately latch onto the newest technological gadget.

j.p.

A "Wheel" you say? nah that'll never catch on, i have legs you know!

:p

[JDFP]

A "Wheel" you say? nah that'll never catch on, i have legs you know!

:p

Touche, good sir, touche.

I was thinking more along of the lines of: "Hey, check out this new Betamax/DIVX/HD-DVD player! I know it's $300+ but these babies are going to be HUGE one day!"

j.p.

[Andy]

Yeah i get that argument, but once new technology is tried and tested to stick with the 'outdated' becuase your too stubborn to move forwards is irrational to me.

For example, refusing to use sky+ and sticking with a VCR and tapes to record television.

[Danny]

Yeah i get that argument, but once new technology is tried and tested to stick with the 'outdated' becuase your too stubborn to move forwards is irrational to me.

For example, refusing to use sky+ and sticking with a VCR and tapes to record television.

which is exactly the problem now. She uses her smart phone, laptop, the works. but replacing her vcr with a tivo style device? utter madness, for some reason. wont even watch the extra channels!