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The Greatest Generation. The Silent Generation. A rapidly increasing number of Baby Boomers. Whenever I get a notification, text, or friend request from a member of these groups, I get excited, but also confused. What absurd usage of social media or technology am I going to see this time? Why are so many senior citizens trying to get in touch with me? Did I sign up for this? I don’t even know this person. I appreciate and support old-timers using technology, and am consistently entertained at the differences I see in the way they use it. Described below are some of the most common scenarios I’ve come across.
Texting
Going to have to dedicate this one to my Grandma as she is the queen of ridiculous texts. Here’s a brief look at a text I received after wishing her a happy birthday: “Ty and hd a gd birthday. Lv ya, Gmr and Gmpa.” So much to discuss here, so let’s dive in.
To start, the abbreviations are just out of control. Out of the 11 words in her response, 7 of them are abbreviated. That’s 63.636 mother fucking percent. Those types of numbers are just about unheard of. Grandma is totes abbrevin way above the average, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Another common occurrence is signing off on texts like they’re emails. I’m not sure where the miscommunication was that made older people think I don’t know that it’s them texting me, but for some reason every single text from Grandma is ended with some variation of “Lv Gmr.” To me, the craziest part of them doing this is that I find myself adding a “Love, Brad” in my response. It baffles me why I do this, as I would never sign off on a text to anyone else, but I just feel the need to reciprocate the signature for Nana.
Finally, the random texts out of the blue never fail to make my day. Just a few days back I received a text from my Grandma completely unprompted, with no warning. The contents of the message? A single thumbs up emoji. After my initial confusion passed, I realized that the thumbs up had actually put me in a better mood than before. That woman is wiser than I will ever know. I responded the only way I knew how, with two thumbs up.
Social Media
Probably my all-time favorite. Observing older individuals navigating social media is highly entertaining, and a quick Google search reveals tons of humorous instances where they just don’t have a clue. The oversharing on Facebook is bananas. I don’t know if they don’t understand how social media works (doubtful), or are just working on building their brand (probable), but I consistently see moves pulled by the elderly that would be met with shock and awe from my friends if I attempted them. These include, but are not limited to, sharing their own profile picture, posting statement statuses that have no place on social media, commenting “That’s my grandson!” on 80% of my posts, and TYPING IN ALL CAPS FOR NO REASON.
Video Chats
This brings us to my final example of older people using technology – trying to figure out how to video chat. Manifesting itself mostly in the form of Skype calls or FaceTime, there is once again a disconnect in how to properly use this technology. Be it a lack of understanding in the fact that the camera is on the front of the screen, or that the microphone actually can hear you, video chatting with grandparents or other senior citizens can rapidly become a frustrating, yet entertaining affair.
Obviously, this column only scratches the surface of older generations struggling with technology, but give them credit. At least they’re trying to learn something new to couple with their brazen honesty and zero-fucks attitude. Next time you see an older person struggling with technology, lend a hand and teach them how to use it. Not only will you have helped someone out, you’ll also have spent some quality time with a person or loved one who might not be around for much longer. Not to mention you get to enjoy the entertainment of seeing them use the technology in a colossally incorrect way. It’s a win-win..
Image via Shutterstock
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Post Grad Brad
Recent post grad whose name is Brad. That pretty much sums it up. Email me at postgradbrad@gmail.com.
My favorite is when my dad texts me and it always starts with “Hey Scott its dad”. As if I’ve never saved his number in the 10+ years I’ve had a cell phone.
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Sorry, gotta one up you. My parents have no idea how to text and still struggle to use their cell phone, which they only turn on when traveling (which I kinda like…the obsession with cell phones blows my mind)
Sorry, gotta one up you too. My parents have no idea how to call someone and still struggle to use a computer, which they only turn on when “emailing” (which I kinda like…the obsession with computers blows my mind)
Had a Facetime call with my parents this weekend and I was looking at the ceiling the entire time.
Genuinely curious where the older generation got the notion that everything should be abbreviated. My mom and grandparents are the exact same way.
The news. 80% of what the networks cover includes reading tweets.
My theory is that primitive texting included abbreviations because of the 1-9 text pad (remember that?), and older people picked up the style and just assumed “texting will always be this way. This is what texting is. It will never change.”
Lady once asked me if the wifi was down because the microwave was unplugged. Can’t make this shit up.
Grandparents are the best people this world has to offer. Love ’em if you got ’em.
My mom has recently downloaded Snapchat. She will take a picture in Snapchat, save it, and then send it to me in a text. My dad surprisingly owns the Instagram game though. He has a large contingent of followers because of all his arrowhead pictures and hashtags. Gotta love the older generation and technology.
My father is a mechanical engineer and still struggles with the internet and his cell phone. It’s unreal.
Had an elder client call me complaining yesterday that she couldn’t open the email attachment I sent her. After spending 15 min trying to figure out what was wrong she informed me that she was using AOL as her default browser.
My dad does the thing where he signs his texts with his name. I told him to stop, and then he couldn’t understand why I didn’t know it was him when he got a new cell number.
My 50 year old Uncle used to complain about how all of us “younger” people were on our cell phones all the time. He recently got his first smart phone and now spends all of his time on Facebook. When not on Facebook, he tells me about all of the things he sees on Facebook (because everything on the Internet is true).