What It's Like Watching a Computer Illiterate

By Marcus Yam
published

Been there.

You know how to use computers, but not everyone else does. The majority of those people sitting in front of the keyboard today don't really know how to use a search engine properly with keywords and operators; but the fact is that computer and internet use are now beyond mainstream.

Still, I'm sure that many of you have seen yourself in this very position:

This video was originally featured on Reddit, and was based off of a comic strip. The comic strip features a slightly different ending too.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
63 Comments Comment from the forums
  • therabiddeer
    Its true! Its all true! This and people that type 10 words per minute frustrate me to no end!
    Reply
  • pclee
    I was surprised to find out that fresh college graduates can't use Excel. They know a lot about PowerPoint though.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    People know how to post on Facebook via cell phone but they couldn't use a computer to save their life.
    Reply
  • jsc
    Well, look at the people in the forums who ask a question that a few minutes with google or any other search engine could answer easily.
    Reply
  • squanto
    ZOMG so true, I do IT for a living and it is the same thing every time, click to enter user name... grab mouse to click the password box, grab the mouse again to click enter.
    Reply
  • damasvara
    TheCapuletThat girl in the pic has some serious man hands.:lol:

    Now that you've mentioned it...
    Reply
  • ssddx
    while it may be true that quite a bit of the population may not be as computer saavy as tom's readers the very same people might look at us techies in the same way. the older generations often times are more saavy when it comes to the basics.

    how many of the tech's can honestly say you are as fluent in mechanical skills as either someone born in the 60's or the auto mechanic down the street? We all have our own little areas of expertise. of course some people just dont seem to get anything at all.

    Just something to think on.
    Reply
  • guardianangel42
    ssddxwhile it may be true that quite a bit of the population may not be as computer saavy as tom's readers the very same people might look at us techies in the same way. the older generations often times are more saavy when it comes to the basics.how many of the tech's can honestly say you are as fluent in mechanical skills as either someone born in the 60's or the auto mechanic down the street? We all have our own little areas of expertise. of course some people just dont seem to get anything at all.Just something to think on.
    Very very true, which is why I am taking multiple Auto Shop and Metal shop classes on top of my engineering classes.

    I would much rather be a jack of all trades and master of none than a specialist in a field that is extremely narrow in scope.

    Reply
  • brisingamen
    her hand looks un porportionally large because its much closer to the camera than her head. its also possible a small wide angle lense was used to take this photo further accentuating the fore ground.

    lastly image stabalization in some cameras can sometimes slightly increase the size of moving objects in an attempt to keep the image solid and clear.

    if you look at her right hand, albeit partially covered by her hair, its normal sized.
    Reply
  • sparky2010
    what saddens me is that alot of people like that actually work in IT depts.
    the other day, my manager wanted to know how to password protect some excel file, so she called in some IT dude.. at first i didn't know what exactly she wanted, i found out only later what she wanted, and by then it was too late for me to show them how (2 IT dudes + my manager).. and it was exactly like in that video, me putting on my best poker face, and trying not to lol or kill them.. in the end, after a full microsoft office help + google combo, they got it down..
    meh.. sometimes i wonder why am i even on this planet...
    Reply