How I teach my Mother... Computers

So my mum just got a new computer for the first time.

Witnessing the setup of this machine and watching her switch from a ten-year-old PC to a Macbook Pro has been the highlight of my week.

Nay, year. Nay, entire life. Oh, the hilarity.

Now my mum is not the most tech savvy person in the world, something you will soon realise.

But the depths of her confusion over how computers, smart phones and the internet work baffles me; to the point where I have to curb my "are you serious" glares as to not come across as condescending and mean.

I know you know all the stuff I'm getting at. My mum thinks you have to double click links. She thinks if you click on things over and over, pages will load faster.

She calls it "the internets" – like there is several, and she thinks those ads saying she's going to win a billion bucks because she's the 137th visitor is false advertising and that "they shouldn't be allowed to do that".

My mum and the internet:

So she turns on her computer, with her old computer sitting next to her. "How do I get my Facebook?" She asks.

"What do you mean, Mum?" "How do I get my Facebook from my old computer onto this computer?" LOLs.

"Do I need to save all my photos from Facebook onto a disk so can I have them on this computer?" Glare.

She opens up her internet browser, and starts to freak out, because her "Pinterest is gone".

"My Pinterest isn't on here! I've lost everything! Will it still be on my old computer??" Actual LOLs.

"What is the newspaper that comes out on Sundays?" "Huh?" "I want to look at the newspaper that came out today, on my computer.

"The newspaper comes out every day. Just look up Stuff." "What kind of stuff?" Ugh. "Just Google Stuff." "What kind of stuff?!?!

I soon explain to Mum how the internet works. How the internet is everywhere, and not stored on your computer.

That you don't need a disk (a disk?? Really?) to install Facebook, Pinterest or Gmail. That you can get Google on everything. And how it is updated all day, every day, everywhere, and that this is the beauty of the internet. Patience of a saint, right?

Now while my mum's still an internet newbie, and I find her questions (at this point) somewhat cute, I do have to wonder what is to come.

She just got a smart phone as well, so I look forward to watching her realise that phones are no longer just for texting and calling, and that she won't have to take photos of her Facebook photos in order to have them on her phone's gallery (I'm not even joking).

Watch this space...