Wind In My Head: Mothers.
Wind In My Head
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Mothers.
My mother has discovered the Internet. Well, actually she discovered the computer and the magical hours of fun she could have actually playing Spider Solitaire. My mother is very easily entertained.Anyhow, because of her precocious grandson, my precocious nephew, she's also discovered the Internet. So she rings up Threez last night.
Mom: How to go to that map place?
Threez: What map place?
Mom: You know, that one where you can get maps?
Threez: Er, Streetdirectory.com?
Mom: Yah, that one.
Threez: Ok, open the icon with the big E.
Mom: Ok. -pause- But it says Open when I click it.
Threez (eternally patient): click the right button twice. Very fast.
Mom: Ok. But it is a Goggle page.
Threez: Ok, you must go to the white bar on top and type in the address.
Mom: How to cancel what's there?
Threez: Delete it.
Mom: How to delete it?
Threez: Hit the delete key.
Mom: I can't find it.
Threez: It's on the top right hand corner.
Mom: Don't have. Got Page Up, Page down, F12, F11...
Threez: Look further down.
Mom: Ohhh! Found it. Ok. And then?
Threez: Type in www.streetdirectory.com.sg
Mom: Ok. w-w-w.... where's the fullstop?
Threez: Bottom right hand corner.
Mom: Don't have! Got two dots.
Threez: That's the colon! Look further.
Mom: Ok, I try this. Ok.
Mom: Wait! It says the it does not exist!
Threez: Tell me what you typed in.
Mom: I typed in what you told me to.
Threez: Ok. Spell it for me.
Mom: I typed, www.streetdirectorydotcomdotsg. That's what you told me to type!
......
Yup, my mom, who wanted to know where China Club was. All she had to do was actually ask Threez specifically where it was and Threez could have told her.
But 10 points to my mother for her attempting to keep up with the times. 100 points to Threez for her unending patience.
Ondine tossed this thought in at 12:41
8 thoughts...
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At 10:49 pm
Tym said... My mother learned to SMS and e-mail in the last couple of years, but it's still very, very strange to get messages from her.
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At 1:02 am
Jasper Chen said...
I know my mum will be hooked to her cameraphone.
Once she figure out how to get into "camera" mode, that is.-
At 9:08 am
Unknown said...
Hey, your mum's cool! My mum's still having problem with using the VCR to record programmes... But then again, she's the expert in ironing and keeping the house clean, which are like rocket science to me :)
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At 9:55 pm
.::: .: :.:. :.: ... ::: :. .::. .: :. ::. said...
shouldn't it be wwwdotstreetdirectorydotcomdotsg instead?
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At 10:06 pm
Ondine said...
She found the first dot. She was looking for the fullstop. But she didn't realise the rest were the same. It's hard to explain the logic behind the way a mother thinks. If we could, life wouldn't be so interesting. =)
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At 11:40 pm
Tym said...
I think the www.streetdirectorydotcomdotsg anecdote perfectly illustrates how something that many experienced computer/web users take for granted can be completely mystifying to a newcomer. We know how the "dot"s work; newcomers wouldn't have a clue that that's part of the "language" of using the internet.
I recall the first time I saw my mother try to use a mouse --- she didn't get it, at first, how her hand movements were coordinated with the arrow's movement on screen. Once she figured it out, though, she was okay all the way. But making that "leap" of understanding was not as straightforward as it seems. It sure makes you think about the growing digital divide...-
At 1:29 pm
Unknown said...
I too salute your mom's attempt to keep up with the times. I've had my fair share of teaching my mom and various relatives on the scary-looking white box and web browser.
Best wishes and like what electranama said, try hard to be patient with your mum coz you might be pleasantly surprised once she goes on a roll... :)-
At 6:49 am
Zim said...
My mom plays mahjong on the computer! heh.. only problem is if I want to use the computer too...