Under Construction: The Information Superhighway

[OhCurt]

Seriously, people! It's 2011 now!!

;-P

[OhCurt]

"Once every hour, someone is involved in an internet scam. That man is Michael Scott. He's supporting about twenty Nigerian princesses." - Pam Beesly

#whupf

[starcraftfan9112012]

was not what i was hoping for... I hope the party goes well. I like the title I think people should still call it that. I hate email. viruses. I never seem to get my emails in time or with all required data... must be a virus.

[qsmile]

you are so cute, are you single?

red hair, husky, nerdy, aspie traits.scifi junky. Send me a message. : )

[Spielbergsp]

Speaking of age gap, my mom turns 60 next year. I'm turning 22 in a week while the oldest of my brothers is almost 40. He's old enough to be my dad but yet his son is just 1.5 yrs old. :) Speaking of emails and stuff I think it's just a mind set in a way. Personally I cannot recall any "young" friends and relatives who don't use emails.

[bjhorton2005]

I'm enjoying the video chat and stuff on things like skype. I believe I heard something about an internet 2.0 coming out, that is going to use all new fiber optic technology and be like 2000x faster or something.

[Blizzeekitty]

My mom and one of my step brothers will never have a computer. Everyone else got into it a few years ago. Even my 91 year old aunt has e-mail. I was the pioneer in the family, I have been online for going on 12 years.

[point5past]

if you are family or friends and are not on email, i've probably forgotten you exist. i'm only half-kidding.

[dl737]

I think I'm sort of lucky in that regard. My oldest relatives (Aunts, Uncles, FIL) are in their mid 70s and all have e-mail. I can understand how not having it can be a hassle when trying to communicate.

[anakin1814]

Mid-70s and having email is just great! I hope my parents are around for another 20 or 30 years, and I can't imagine them not having in there life for that amount of time. That would be like somebody saying "I don't have the phone" and people saying "Yeah, okay. Keep writing me letters." LOL

[ABQdoubleG]

My 5 siblings all have email. I really wish my Mother was on the Internet, she does not even like a cell phones.

[vintagegarden]

I'm almost 50 and have been using the internet for over 10 years. There are lots of things I love about it like YT and ebay, but sometimes I miss my old life which seemed much simpler and more peaceful. I have friends my age and older who are online and some who are not. I thought at the beginning the net would keep those of us were were online better in touch, but it has not.

I've come to realize that not everyone wants to be connected to everyone else 24/7 and that there is peace in that.

[Cadwaladr]

I set my mom up with a gmail account late last year. She's 56. But she can use it now, and she has an iPhone, so she's relatively up to date with technology now. It's kinda funny though, because my dad has always been really into computers, since the '70s. He's still the first person I go to for tech support.

[grams1944]

My husband does not trust the internet. He has a laptop but at the moment it is down for repairs. This means a long involved call to tech support. I am dreading this because I am the on-call-support. This problem I can't fix so it's a call to HP.

[Zublime75]

my dad is 62 and my mom 58 and just 3 or 4 years ago I tougth them how to use a computer and email and stuff, now they call me on skype and they do power point presentations for their church :P it took me a while!!!

[kenrg]

My folks are 77 & 81 and they use email, but mostly for forwarding hoaxes ;^)

[thefrozenghost]

Wait...ten people that talk more than you do?! WTF

[talkingtothemoon]

Well, my grandma recently started using email and it's awesome. For her it was a thing she had to ease into over a couple of months and now it's running smoothly.

[richfranz84]

I find that the older generation tend to still want to hear your voice now and then. (They have their ulterior motives.) Some are probably more tech savvy than you think. When is the last time you visited the homes of some of the people on your list??? .....Just a thought....

[andymooseman]

The superhighway is there. But, some people will always still want to use those old familiar back roads. The ones they feel they know & can trust.

My father in law is a little like that, even though he is on the Internet. I just can't persuade him to upgrade to broadband & he refuses to use a credit card online. He just doesn't trust all this new fangled technology!

I can't imagine live without email etc now. I even arrange inter-continental travel with it :)

[BradThunder]

A few years ago, my dad was needing a Disabled Driver badge, so I said, to speed things up. I'd fill the form out online and email it. The following day, he hands me a £1 and says that it's to pay the stamp for the email. A good twenty minutes later, I was still explaining to him the concept!

I kept the £1 anyway. ;)

[andymooseman]

Wow, the price of a stamp is a lot higher up there isn't it ;)

Great story tough.

[LeSaMilano]

TF my whole family - all generations up to the 80 and 90 years olds- are in the swing of things -

I do have a few friends who are hold-outs - and I think they reliase they'll eventually have to get with it so's not to be left by the side of the highway!

good luck with the phone calls ;)

[digger96]

I gave my sister one of my old computers and set up an email account for her and her husband. Once they realized how many people they could keep in touch with over email, they got into it very easily... though I am still on-call tech support. :-)

[kayleewyatt]

i wish for reunions and anniversaries we could get everyone up and running, my parents are the babies of the family and they seem to have embraced way easier than everyone else

[captainfury2007]

My mother has a Nokia cellphone with the monochrome screen. Its because WE bought it for her.  She has had it for 8 years and still hasn't set up her voicemail.

[1DRock37167]

Mother is 67 and we send emails back and forth all the time but she will still write a check for $5.

[qiranger]

My family never got around to it until Facebook opened up their membership.

[fehquig]

My family is still very far behind the cutting edge, and I'm a bit of a throwback too because I still like to pay my bills with checks... Apparently, the banks want to do away with them.

[thizizliz]

Checks? Really? And restaurants accept them? Wow! Sweetie, my 91, almost 92 year old auntie uses email and facebook. I think it's location and who they hang around. That's just amazing in this day and age.

[ChristopherMast]

I have friends in the Midwest who don't use cell phones or answering machines! SERIOUSLY!

I get really pissed when people write checks for stuff. Unless it's for the purchase of something that costs a few hundred bucks, really.

[timido66]

My mom refuses to use a computer at home. She uses one at work and she says that is enough for her. She calls me to order stuff for online. Drives me crazy. She just got a debit card this year. She is a bit behind the times.

[TravMcTavish]

Ha ha I find it a little hard to believe that they talk more than you do. :)

I do understand what you are saying though. My family knows that if they want to get in contact with me the best way is sending me an email.

[olnightstar69]

Can you remember what your life was like BEFORE you had a computer, cell phone, ipod, etc...? Our society is so plugged in now. It's hard to see the point of all of it when you're not a part of it. (But don't worry, there's an app for that.)

[boobtubious]

The real old fashioned way would be to send a letter to each of them with a self addressed stamped envelope for the RSVP. Be happy they've got phones!

[anakin1814]

We did that for a surprise anniversary party for them once, about 4 years ago. In the end, we still had to call 50% of them back to see if they were going!

[boobtubious]

We've come a long way technologically, some folks just dont care or cant justify spending the $ if they dont have to.

[anakin1814]

I think it's a matter of priorities. All of these people have nice fishing boats and SUVs! LOL

[OhCurt]

It might also might be an interest level thing.

Let them know there's plenty of teh pr0n here and maybe that'll wake 'em up!

All the relatives I still talk to know how to work a computer. Except one. But he doesn't count because he doesn't have email.

[OhCurt]

"might also might" - ??

DISCLAIMER: I was watching pr0n while commenting and cannot be held responsible for my typoez.

[anakin1814]

For the love!

[OhCurt]

What lies in the shadow of the pr0n?

[anakin1814]

Lisa Nova?

[OhCurt]

#spammonster

[musosf]

I found out recently that one of my sisters closed her email account. She's using one of my old Macs so not a Luddite, but I think she's just afraid of being sucked into the online world. Guess I'm a bad example for her. :)

Meanwhile, one of my other sisters is on Facebook and the other tweets more than I do! So I'm in frequent (albeit cursory) contact with two sisters and very occasional contact with the third.

I'm bad about remembering to call but try to visit when I can.

[anakin1814]

That's how I am with friends. I talk to the ones more connected to the easier ways to communicate. I always forget to catch up with them!

[NintendoCapriSun]

They want Pleasantville to stay black and white. That's just BALLS!

I've been lucky, my family has embraced the internet for the most part.

[anakin1814]

Black and white is one thing. Static is another! LOL

[hallbe]

I wonder if maybe it's a good thing they don't use email. It seems so foreign to you and me. But, it you think about it, life seemed slower and more relaxed before email. Maybe that's just me remembering wrong though... ;-)

[anakin1814]

The funny thing is, they all complain when it's time to plan something like this because of all the time they have to spend on the phone! LOL

[zebidee55]

We finally managed to get my GF's 74 year old Mum online this year. Useful due to the Australia vs Europe distance. My Dad who is the same age is into it more than I am. My brother and sister and I used to communicate via email when we were in the next room to each other.

I can only think of one friend who isn't online & that blows me away.

You should be careful in case they decide to burn you as a witch!

[anakin1814]

Evil ginger witch!!

[zebidee55]

Haha! With the black cat and everything! Hmmm - do you live in a gingerbread house too? Yum.

When I moved to Germany, I lost my fax line which is still on my business cards. I thought about how I should fix that, and realised it's pretty much obsolete technology now. I bought Acrobat Pro for my last job & haven't looked back.

[anakin1814]

I've been told I live in more of a hobbit hole than a ginger bread house! LOL

Yes--the fax machine. It still amazes me that that technology is alive! Acrobat all the way dude!

[paul1967uk]

Even cheques are old fashioned, do people still use them

[anakin1814]

The old people who refuse to use email do! LOL

[GuruMN]

It's weird, one side of my family(outside of my immediate family and one married couple) doesn't use computers at all, it's strange, I understand my grandma not wanting to, but my relatives in their 40's and their kids growing up don't even have a computer in their house. It blows my mind.

[anakin1814]

I couldn't imagine not having a computer! Stone ages I tellz ya!

[bearchay889]

Alot of my family was like that untill about 3 years ago when PC's really dropped threw the floor in price and then they were still on the fence but after me and a few other family memebers got them around to check out what all they could use one for besides whatever they had thought they could only do a large portion jumped on board and it does make things so much easier.

[anakin1814]

Yes....things like email and FB have made it much easier for me to communicate with my siblings.

[kokohawk]

Yeah I know a lot of people like that!

[anakin1814]

Amazing isn't it?

[wvbama]

I sold almost $15000 worth of equipment last year through email alone. My family is always bugging me about something on the internet. They think youtube is only jokes and not useful.

[anakin1814]

It's amazing how some ppl still think doing things online is a joke and not useful at all!

[wvbama]

OMG, I know exactly how you feel man.

[anakin1814]

:-)

[G0d0fHope]

1st. :P Interesting stuff. Some peoplez...

[anakin1814]

I know, right?!