IT Hire Wire

So, this week I was planning on interviewing an expert in the IT field, but then, it occurred to me that it might be more interesting to take a little look at the other side: the computer haters, otherwise known as the IT illiterate. I always have found that considering the opposite point of view often sheds a whole new light on a topic.

 I didn’t have to look very far for a source, as my sweet, but uninformed mother is quite possibly the definition of computer illiterate. For Mother’s Day, I wanted to get her the special edition pink, inscribed IPOD, but I had to resist, because buying the IPOD would mean I would also have had to fly home to give her a 10-hour tutorial on how to use an IPOD. This tutorial would probably be followed by numerous “Jamie, my IPOD’s broken!” phone calls. In the end, I opted for tickets to a Broadway show.

 Anyway, here are some excerpts from our dynamic interview:

 Describe you first encounter with a computer.

When my son went away to college in 2000, I was very sad, so I made my husband teach me how to e-mail. I only wrote short e-mails at that time, because I didn’t really understand how to type. There were a lot of misspellings. I have only recently begun to write long ones. At this point, it probably takes me 30 minutes or so to write a paragraph or two. 

What do you use the internet for the most?

I love online shopping! I first learned about online shopping a year ago! I made my first purchase on the internet last year. It was a truly momentous occasion, and since then I’ve made lots more purchases.

Can you describe your most recent computer issue? How did you get it fixed?

The computer sometimes freezes and I don’t get how to turn it off and restart it…so I wait for my husband to get home. He thinks he knows how to use computers, but he’s not much better than me. I put myself on computer-restriction for years, because every time I touched it, he said I broke it! Finally, a friend came to visit and taught me the basics. Now, when my husband says I’ve broken the computer, I ignore him. He also says our children “break” the computer whenever they come home to visit. 

What do you think of technology-savvy people? For example, the people who fix your computer when it breaks.

I quite enjoy the tech-savvy people. My daughter has apparently had bad experiences but I find them to be quite nice. I think they feel sorry for me, because I know nothing! I need one to come by and give me private lessons. I’m too scared to go to a class, because I don’t want to be dumbest person in the class!

What do you find most difficult about using a computer?

There are too many things you can do, and if I push the wrong button, I can’t figure out how to get it back to where it was. And then my husband gets mad because he thinks I broke it.

What comes to mind when I say the word MP3? What about JPEG? Mega-Byte?

Is that German?

Typewriter or computer, which do you prefer and why?

I prefer computers because I can shop on them!

Image by garethjmsaunders

Related Posts

1. Enough Experience to Fill a Shoebox…But Only Just.
2. What Darwin Didn’t See Coming: A Revolution of our Evolution
3. My Computers. My IT Attitude.
4. Job Searching for the Surfer Generation
5. The Disgruntled Workforce—Defining Our Generation (and economy) One Complaint at a Time