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| "Is this the ON switch?" |
Hear my cry, dear reader. I am
introducing my mum to the internet, bit by bit. My dear old mum has
always maintained that she's not used much else other than her TV
ever since I moved out of home back in the mists of time, and thus
getting her used to the online world is proving to be something of an
adventure and a challenge.
She is hugely intelligent and eager to
learn, which is helping a lot, but teaching her the basics of using
the web is also bringing it home just how far we've all come in the
last decade or so of the internet's existence. In fact, it's actually
really difficult to try and put the basics into words for her now
that so many aspects of operating online are now second nature to me.
Teaching her everything from scratch,
right from turning the computer on, is helping me to appreciate just
how complicated the internet seems to folks of another generation.
It's not just the use of the machines and the web either, it's the
things like 'Don't download anything ending with .exe', 'Don't pay
any attention to emails from banks', 'Ignore the Nigerian prince
offering you a million quid if you pass him your bank details,' and
so on. No mum, I know you don't need Viagra. Just ignore the spam.
Spam, mum. No, spam emails. Unsolicited messages. No, I don't know
why it's called Spam off the top of my head. You get the idea.
She's showing some very good signs of
getting the hang of it all, with comments like 'Oh, once I'm on that
computer I don't want to come off it,' or 'where else can I find
vouchers?' She has started to email me on occasion with questions
too, as she just did half an hour ago. She wanted to know what the
updates were that her computer was asking her to approve. Normally
I'd get bored explaining that sort of thing but as she is so eager to
learn that I'm more than happy to help.
This may wear thin as time goes on, but
I'm thrilled that she is starting to see just how much can be done
with an internet connection. Granted, I use my connection for
procrastination as well as work, but it's awesome to see mum figuring
out that a lot of the running around she does with one thing and
another could be done so much quicker and easier online. Bills,
shopping, keeping in touch, banking and so on are all about to change
for her, and I'm really kinda proud of the fact that she's trying to
embrace what to her is brand new technology. Go on mum. Get stuck in.
I'm rooting for ya, and you know where I am when you want to shout at
Windows.
Some tips if you're in a similar
situation with a friend or loved one:
-Don't rush them. Let them get to grips
with things at their own pace . Don't try and explain the
complexities of online culture before they know how to stay safe
online.
-Teach the basics at first, from the
absolute essentials upwards.
-Make sure you explain WHY things are a
certain way, and why they need to be done a certain way. This is much
more helpful than just telling a person to not do something. Back it
up with a reason.
-Don't just skim over the basics. Think
about the things you now do reflexively and explain them in detail so
that they can make sense to the n00b.
-Don't call them n00bs. It's rude.
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