Maybe technology is best left to the younger folks...

I am amazed at the number of older folks who have embraced all the new-fangled technology that seems to pop up every day. My parents love Facebook, and have reconnected with many people from their past since joining the online community. I see many older folks using their smart phones and other gadgets when I am out and about, but sometimes I really wonder if they know what they are doing.

I went out today to grab some lunch while I was at work. I chose Togo's for a nice sandwich and soup. As I walked in, I noticed an older couple sitting at a table inside the shop, obviously struggling with their Iphone. The husband was trying to take a photo of his wife with the device, but he seemed to think he needed to hold the phone up as if he was using an old Instamatic camera, with the rear-facing camera lens up to his eye, pressing either the volume or mute button to activate the shutter. He was complaining that he couldn't see her through the thing, and she was becoming irritated that all she could see on the display was a dark smudge that looked more like an eye than her. I watched amusedly for a few seconds as he tried repeatedly to take her photo, and all that came out was a dark nothing. Finally, I walked over and showed them how to use the camera function on their Iphone correctly, and you would have thought I gave them the winning Lotto numbers. When he finally got a decent photo of his bride, he just shook his head and chuckled, stating "We've had this damn thing for almost a year, and hell if I could figure out how to take a damn picture with it".

I certainly wasn't going to show them how to shoot a video with it. Lord knows what kind of trouble they might get into with that!