Yahoo News "Kids Who've Only Been Exposed To Phones Are The Bane Of My Existence": Computer-Savvy Adults Are Revealing The "Technology Illiterate" Moments That Made Them Pull Their Hair Out
While technology has been around for a little bit, it's still pretty common for some individuals to be confused by it (which is completely okay!). But when Reddit user u/ThatLasagnaGuy asked: "What’s the worst case of computer illiteracy you’ve seen?" over three thousand people provided a story. Here's what they had to say below:
1."My mom was trying to move 200 pictures from one folder to another. Her approach was to open one picture, do Save As, save it to the other folder, and then delete the original. One by one. When I tried to explain that she could click-and-drag the whole thing over in two seconds, she said, 'That wouldn't be any faster than the way I do it!' She would also 'save' pictures she found online by copying them, opening Microsoft Word, pasting them in there, and saving them as a '.docx' file. She would try to 'open' jpegs by right-clicking on them, choosing 'Open With,' and selecting Microsoft Word."
2."I was helping someone with a website for their small business. I told them I put an 'alt' tag on some of the photos that would show text when they put their mouse over it and to try it out. He literally picked up his mouse and placed it on the screen. I fell on the floor and almost pissed myself."
3."The instructions said to close the door, but it meant the latch on the floppy drive for the Commodore 64. My buddy got up and closed the door to the room."
4."The whole family has used emails for years. The other day, I had to send one for my dad, and he said something along the lines of 'Send both files in one email, so you don't have to pay twice.'"
—u/[deleted]
5."My mother refused to believe that calling her granddaughter in Ireland using Whatsapp over their home Wi-Fi was not the same as placing an international phone call and that it would cost 'an arm and a leg' if she did that. 'We aren't made out of money, you know!'"
6."I worked for a law firm, and one of the administrators would print the PDF of the case from her email. She would then scan it back to her computer because it 'downloaded to the documents folder so she could move to the case folder.' I told her she could just click the down arrow and download it, then move the file, saving hundreds of sheets of paper. She said that was too complicated. She only lasted a few months before she was fired."
7."I knew someone who once put their credit card in the floppy disk drive to make an online purchase."
8."I was once trying to teach someone how Windows Explorer worked. For whatever reason, they could not grasp the concept of using folders to store documents. I had to get an actual folder and piece of paper out to demonstrate putting paper into the folder before she was able to grasp the concept."
9."My grandfather typed 'big boobs' as his Facebook status, like 15 times in a 5-minute span. I think I understand what he was trying to do."
10."This just happened last Friday. I am a new legal secretary in a small law firm where the partners have been in business for 50 years. Part of my job is to print every email that comes in, and of course, people always send big fat attachments Friday at 4:55 p.m. I had some emails queued up to print, and since it was already 10 minutes after I was supposed to be gone, I asked the managing partner if he would shut down the computer after it finished printing. He did not know how to shut down a computer."
11."A user was attempting to connect to the Wi-Fi network by following the documentation. Upon reaching the step requiring credential entry, the instructions said something like, 'Enter your username and password in this window,' accompanied by a screenshot of the login window. The user contacted the help desk, saying they were unable to write anything into the window. Eventually, it was discovered that the user was trying to type their credentials into the screenshot itself."
12."I once had someone who thought their Wi-Fi was down because their wireless mouse had run out of battery and needed new ones. I think that's my favorite."
13."We had a new hire (19 years old in 2023) that we had to explain what a Start button on Windows was and how and where 'File->Save' was and what it meant. Kids who have only been exposed to phones/tablets are the bane of my existence these days."
14."Around 2016, I watched my brother (in his 30s) open Safari browser and click in the search bar to type out 'www.yahoo.com' and hit enter. Then, he clicks on the search bar on Yahoo’s homepage to type 'Google.'"
15.And finally, "This was 10+ years ago. Anytime the house Wi-Fi wasn't working well, my roommate would unplug the Ethernet cable from the modem and the router and hold it up and down (like you would hold a hose to drain the water out) to 'let the electrons drain out' so the internet wouldn't be clogged. I tried to explain that this wasn't how Ethernet worked, but he said the cable technician told him to do this, and that was the end of the matter. The thing is, it usually worked because it reset the internet connection, just not for the reason he thought it did."
Is there a "computer illiteracy" moment with someone you will never forget? Tell us what happened in the comments below:
