Subscribe by EmailHow elderly people see television remotes
August 13, 2008 by Geeks are Sexy | 14 commentsLet’s admit it, most elderly people can’t handle today’s “new fangled” television remotes. They all think that they’ll break something if they hit a button they’ve never touched before. Even my parents, who are in their mid-60s, look like complete idiots when trying to switch from one television channel to another. They’re so slow to punch in numbers that when switching to a multi-digit channel, they don’t even have time to hit the second or third number before the television thinks they’re done with their choice. I don’t know about you, but this drives me totally crazy. Anyway, if you’re like me and know some old folks who are afraid of touching remotes of any kind, the following comic by Roz Chast will really make you snicker.
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ROFL.I am going to sent this to my mom. hahaha
oups…. I mean, SEND.
Great cartoon. I can see my farm wife grandmother now just looking down at the remote and saying, “Oh dear”.
Old people? Heck, give me a remote with that many buttons and that’s what it looks like to *me*!
Good prose there, comic was a let-down.
Now thats Bamboon Tampoon for sure.!
My mother had no such anxieties. She would push buttons at random until the TV either did what she wanted or got into some strange mode where no button did anything. In the latter case, she would call me to perform the magic “Unplug it, wait a minute and plug it back in” ritual, which she could never remember.
The old were young once and on the top of their game with gadgets that their parents where baffled with. And one day you to will experience old age and wonder how your kids can so easily manipulate the latest technologies. I hope you keep a copy of this blog for them to laugh at 40 or 50 years from now. Your kids will probably be using devices controlled purely by their mind. Your mind will be lucky to remember if you took your daily medication and know what year it is.
Use it or lose it. If you decide to remain behind the curve after an arbitrary age where you choose to say “F* learning anything new”, that’s your perogative. In my lifetime, people will probably develop implantable computers, find medical techniques to make living to 100 years old effortless, and invent new drugs that’ll make a fistful of cocaine look like a fistful of sugar. This is the world you choose to live in. Adapt or die.
I don’t believe it is necessarily about “F* learning”. It’s that you have no desire or need to use certain technology. Kinda like cell phones and all their features. I didn’t even want a cell phone but had to get one about 6 months ago. Now I no longer require it but am locked into a 2 year contract. Point being though, I don’t need the technology. My home phone works perfectly and at a fraction of the cost. I don’t really see the need in caller ID. If I want to know who’s calling I simply answer the phone. I don’t see the need in text messaging. I can call and verbalize my message and if know one answers, I leave a message. I have a 10 mega pixel camera so what’s the big deal about a camera in the phone. And before you answer that with “you may not have the camera with you but you will probably have the phone”. I’ve been to graduations with people taking pictures with their cell phones. Her they are at a one in a lifetime event and they came equipped with only a cell phone?
Here’s another aspect of technology you may not have considered as you get older, eyesight. Don’t know about your eyes but I can’t even read the dinky little screen on a cell phone. Same goes with the TV remote. I can’t read those buttons either (without my reading glasses). As you get older, it isn’t all about not wanting to learn or keep up with the technology. You may be just physically challenged to use it. Ever watch retirees drive? Wouldn’t you say that they may be physically challenged to operate the technology? And they been driving for 50 or 60 years!
Your response had absolutely nothing to do with what the other dude said. You just kind of ranted about cell phones.
btw, I’m probably never coming back to this site, so if anyone responds to me, I’ll never read it.
HAHAHAHA! I agree completely with you Angus, while I read that I thought of only two things; 1. This guy is rambling, just like my grandpa does. 2. Unlike him and my grandpa, my grandma actually LIKES her cellphone, she uses it all the time and we some time’s text even!
@ Angus, @ Chicken man
I was just trying to make a point. I do however realize that some readers here are quite young and their brains haven’t fully developed yet. So I understand why it may seem like rambling to you. I’ll attempt to keep any further posts down to a couple of sentences to make it easier to comprehend.
yeah just imagine what a safari window looks like….