40+ Non-Tech Savvy People Trying To Live In A Digital World
By Luka E
The world of technology has progressed beyond our wildest dreams over the last two decades, and it only continues to speed up in its evolution. We find ourselves reliant on phones, tablets, computers, and machines for everything from our work and social life to basic functions like laundry, cooking, and more. We have to manage cables, protect screens, and deal with things like adverts and digital media. Some of us have learned how to get along with technology, while others have always struggled to keep up. They are simply not equipped to understand how technology works or cope with the many nuances of this new world, and it’s only going to become more digital from here on out. These are a few of the most unfortunate technological mishaps, half-baked hacks, and confusions over the last decade.
Cut The Cable
Usually, chargers stop working when they’ve been bent and wriggled until the rubber gets so brittle that it breaks open and the wire snaps. Here, the cable has clearly been cut. It’s hard to imagine why someone would do that, though.
We assume that the owner got so frustrated by their charger not working that they decided it would look much better in two pieces. That, or they tried to open the packaging with a pair of scissors and caught the cable in the blades, wasting an excellent new charger.
Printing Issues
This poor soul was only trying to print out the lyrics and guitar tabs of the song Smoke on The Water by Deep Purple so he could practice them without using his computer. They printed the page, and everything’s in color, except the part he needed.
Unfortunately, YouTube has measures in place to avoid copyright infringement by preventing the video’s image from being printed. Still, even if it didn’t, he’d have to keep starting and pausing the video to get the full tabs, which seems silly.
Screen Protection Mistake
Some tablets, screens, and computers come with a screen protective film that prevents scratching. Most of us will take it off immediately or leave it on until it becomes annoying and then replace it with a more permanent screen protector.
This brand new computer’s owner made the sad mistake of taking off the polarization film, thinking that it was a screen protector. Without a polarization film, it’s impossible to see what is on display. You would need polarized glasses to see the PC’s output.
Some Things Aren’t DIY
Knowing what a polarization screen does, you can probably guess what happened here. The owner must have thought that removing the screen entirely might be a good way to remove the cracks and that a perfectly good screen was hidden beneath it.
They did an impressive job of removing the screen but promptly made an appointment at the Apple repair store when they realized they had just rendered the screen totally worthless. Not only that, but the touch screen feature of the phone was entirely removed.
Stick With The Old-School
While technology may solve many of our problems, sometimes we’re better off sticking with our old-school tools. This man has been using a phone to help him read by holding the camera over his book and zooming in slightly.
Phone cameras tend to blur when you zoom in. It would be much better just to wear reading glasses. That is what they are made for. If you’re keen to keep up with the times, you could also just get a kindle, which can zoom on demand.
This Watched Pot Might Never Boil
So, you’ve prepped your oven and placed all the fish fingers inside. You’re pacing back and forth, waiting for them to be finished, but they just don’t seem to be cooking. In fact, they still look completely frozen, but you just can’t work out why.
After waiting for an entire hour, you realize the oven isn’t even plugged in. If it were me, I would definitely give myself a slap on the head. What’s even funnier, though, is that this guy posted the image on Reddit to ask for advice.
Romantic Netflix and Chill
When you’re meeting your date for pizza and some Netflix and chill, you’ll want to make it as romantic as a movie date can be. That means cozy blankets, cushions, candles, and the absolute best pizza you can find.
You have to be very careful about where you place the candles, though. This couple got so absorbed in their movies and they didn’t realize the TV was actually melting from a candle. Luckily they caught it in time, and we think it might make for a great story.
Screen Burn
Few people know it, but sunlight can actually burn a mark on your computer or phone screen when it is exposed for too long. The screen can magnify the sun and will quickly fry the OLEDs underneath, resulting in a black mark.
Most of us keep our computers inside and in the shade anyhow, but apparently, that’s not enough. It seems like a reflected beam of sunlight from something shiny in the room burned this computer’s screen, which must have been extremely frustrating.
iPad Breadboard
Next time your grandma comes around, you might want to keep your iPad away from the kitchen. This person’s granny had brought a delicious dessert to have after their meal and needed a cutting board to slice it evenly.
So she found the first board-looking object within reach, which just happened to be their iPad. Good thing their covers are so strong – you have to give props to the designers. They may as well sell them as multi-purpose covers and breadboards.
Detachable Screen
Has your phone’s screen ever become totally disconnected from the rest of your phone? Most of us would take it straight to the repair shop to get it reattached, but this user seems to like it this way for some reason.
Although the screen isn’t attached, it still works, which means they can have the screen standing upright while the phone lies flat on a table. Phone companies should take a tip from this silver-lining situation and create detachable screens!
The Distractions of a Screen
It’s easy to get completely absorbed in our computers when browsing social media, surfing our favorite sites, or just doing our online work. The nature of computers is that they can take our attention completely off of everything around us.
It’s a surprise that the display wasn’t severely compromised, blurring the screen. Perhaps if it had, they would have realized that the candle was melting the back of the computer. The lesson we learned here is to check around your computer before you start to work.
Not Broken, Just Off
This family had been suffering the whole winter, and their new air conditioning unit didn’t seem to make any difference. No matter how high they cranked it up, the place remained just as cold. At their wits’ end, they decided to open it up.
What they found was both frustrating and hilarious. They had been suffering for an entire season because someone had forgotten to remove a tab that was there to keep it from turning on before installation. They must have felt rather silly when they realized their mistake.
Tab Overload
With the advent of smartphones came the possibility to have internet access on demand for any of your nagging questions. Whenever we don’t know the answer to something, it’s almost an instinct now to grab our phone, open Google, and search for immediate answers.
This mom clearly had loads of questions but didn’t know that it’s not necessary to open a new tab for every single one. The tab counter has gone so far beyond its limits, displaying an infinity symbol rather than a number.
Printer Troubleshooting
When the printer shows an error code 012, everyone in the office knows it needs more paper. The problem was, they couldn’t find any of the extra reams of paper. It wasn’t in the usual place, and the new guy seemed baffled.
“I already loaded more paper,” he said, “I can’t understand why it’s already empty.” They opened it up and found a fresh pack of paper in the drawer. “Well, new guy,” they said, “It would help if you removed the packaging before putting it in next time.”
Life Hack? Not Quite
While we’re impressed by the creativity from this kid attempting to extend his battery life to complete his assignment, we’re worried he’s been skipping out on his science classes for the whole year. He placed his phone’s flashlight above the solar-powered charger.
Unfortunately, phone flashlights don’t provide UV light which is what the charger requires to produce energy. In fact, he’s only reducing his battery life even faster since the flashlight is on. It would be better just to plug his phone into the laptop and call it a day.
A Basic Hiring Requirement
Yet another epic failure in the printing department. The photocopier is probably the most necessary piece of equipment in the office, and we don’t understand how they got the job if they don’t understand the need to remove the packaging from the paper.
The new guy was standing there shouting at the printer, pressing buttons, and staring at the flashing lights when the secretary came in. She took one look in the drawer and sighed. “How on earth did you manage to get hired here?”
New Fangled Kettle
When the old stove-top kettle burned out, it seemed about time to get a new, electrical one. They could boil water any time they felt like it without waiting any longer than a minute or two. They found the best model and had it delivered the next day.
Unfortunately, their grandma hadn’t got the memo, and they hadn’t thought there was a need to explain how it works. “It’s so simple!” they thought. She put the new kettle on the stove, wondering how it could be any more efficient than the old one. The next thing they knew, the air was filled with the smell of burnt plastic.
Don’t Do The Dishes in a Rush
Reddit user Ugly Patty was baffled when her dishwasher started spewing out foam all over the kitchen floor. Instead of making life easier, it produced a whole new mess to clean up. Before calling the repair company, she decided to check it out herself.
What she found made her laugh out loud. Whether she was overly distracted or just in a rush, she had accidentally put a laundry detergent pod in the machine instead of normal dishwasher soap. At least it prompted her to clean the floor finally.
Signal Blockers
Remote work is all fine and dandy until your internet stops working. It’s frustrating when your connectivity isn’t what it should be – you can’t send emails, share files, or submit your work. We would do anything we could think of to restore it.
After calling the internet providers, updating passwords, and rebooting the device, Reddit user Nostrom01 finally realized that his last night’s takeaway trays were sitting on top of the router. The tin in the trays must have been blocking the Wi-Fi signal.
Overprotective
iPad’s are notoriously expensive, so there’s no wonder why one would do everything in their power to make sure it doesn’t take any damage. However, this user is taking the protection of their new gadget to extreme measures by never even taking it out of the box.
Sure, storing it in the box while it’s not in use makes total sense, but to keep it in the box forever totally defeats the point of owning a tablet. Tablets should be easy to hold and fit in your bag easily.
Check The Charger First
Sometimes, we can get a bit panicked when a computer seems not to be working, especially if it’s not charging. It’s plugged in, but it’s only losing power, and there’s no charging icon. You just can’t figure out why that is.
This is when our family gets to step in before we spend money on IT services. Sometimes, they catch things we miss. In this case, the user’s son noticed that he plugged the charger into the headphone jack instead of the charging jack, which explains a lot.
Archaic Adblocker
Most websites make their money from advertisements. Those ads are seldom useful and really only serve to annoy and distract us with their persistent flashing. They take up a good portion of the sides of our screens without providing us much value.
This user clearly never heard of adblockers and came up with an archaic solution to remove the distractions. They attached a piece of paper to the screen with hinges to cover the ads. It is certainly a creative solution, but it shouldn’t be necessary for this day and age.
Tech Tip #1: Don’t Stick Pins Through Cables
It’s not difficult to guess why this person’s internet keeps failing. The pin sticking through the cable is definitely a clear cause of their loss of connectivity and mind. This should be pretty obvious to anyone who uses a computer.
Maybe the socket on the computer was broken and wouldn’t hold the ADSL cable properly, which explains the need to attach it to the table. It might make more sense to use some tape or a clip next time.
It Feels a Bit Different
There’s no confusion as to why wireless earbuds have become all the rage recently. They’re incredibly convenient and can last an entire day without hassling with pesky cables and faulty jacks. They’re easy to use and make you feel like a high-tech spy on a mission.
This Reddit user was packing her earbuds for the day and accidentally picked up one of her kid’s toys instead of an earbud. We only hope that the actual earbud didn’t get mixed up with the rest of the toys.
Melted Mouse
It’s always best to keep your PC space clear of any foods or liquids to avoid a mess, or worse, damaging your PC. The same goes for corrosive chemicals, which appear to have destroyed this Reddit user’s poor mouse.
Our best guess is that they had spilled a bottle of acetone on the table and didn’t clean it up properly. They were probably in a rush to do some work, but the melting of the mouse made it difficult to get anything done. Well, now they’re going to be even more delayed in their assignments.
Forgotten Password
This guy was pretty certain somebody was snooping around on his phone without his permission. To catch the perpetrator, he installed an app that takes a selfie whenever someone enters the wrong pin. The result wasn’t quite what he expected.
In fact, he felt rather embarrassed. The app captured multiple images of him failing to get into his own phone! But at least he could be certain there was no one else snooping around on there. The only crime here was forgetfulness.
Just Get it Fixed!
We’ve never seen an iPhone destroyed like this. The entire camera and phone speaker section have been totally torn off. It might excuse their need to use the loudspeaker for calls. Now, their shouting won’t be heard by the person on the line.
Our advice is simple – get a new one. There’s no going back from damage like that. Almost as alarming as the wrecked phone is the insane number of unread emails this user has! When you get a new phone, please put that on the top of your to-do list.
That New Computer Smell
There are always two dominating emotions that tend to come up when we first get a new computer. The first impulse is to savagely remove any packaging. The second is to keep it on to prevent any possible scratches or other damages.
However, it seems foolish to sacrifice a good view of your screen for the sake of scratch protection. The folds of this cover must be rather frustrating to look through. Not only that but we’d be worried about the computer overheating with that extra layer.
Just Zoom
Attempting to read an eBook on a small phone screen is enough to give anyone a headache. The letters can be so tiny at times that it’s tough to make out, even with prescription glasses, but we aren’t sure a magnifying glass is the best solution.
There’s a good reason why phones are able to zoom in on any page. Nobody in this day and age should have to resort to magnifying their screen the old-fashioned way. Although it won’t help for images and PDFs, it’s also worth changing the text size to the highest setting.
Snacking on The Job
Apparently, demon lords are just like the rest of us. They don’t get to order lesser demons to do their chores like washing and ironing the clothes. Despite that, they’d much rather lounge around eating marshmallows while the minions go about their dirty work.
This demon lord clearly couldn’t decide between ironing and snacking and, while attempting to do both, made a bit of a mess of things. Instead of ironing the clothes, she got distracted and ironed the packet of mallows, creating a squishy pink mush, which actually looks pretty tasty.
Molten Plastic Spreader
There’s a good reason why you should always read the instructions when you use a new appliance for the first time. Although you obviously know how to use an iron, they may just point out something you hadn’t noticed.
This plastic protection sheet is a great example. Had they simply inspected the new appliance more carefully or read the instructions more carefully, they would have noticed it before turning it on in a rush. Instead, they’re left with a molten plastic spreading machine.
At Least It Was Safe
We’ve all put things on the roof when we just have too much to carry and need to pack the car. It’s a pretty common thing to do, but it’s really not the safest place to put your phone.
This person raced home and, only when they were stuck in traffic, noticed their phone was missing. After searching under the seats and in all their bags, they started to panic but rejoiced when they got home and found it safely stuck in the car’s trunk door.
That’s a Lot of Feathers
Whoever thought putting a down pillow in the dryer was a good idea must feel a little foolish right about now. There are instructions on the little tag for a reason, but surely logic is enough to tell you to rethink your approach.
It’s pretty crazy to think that all those feathers are what’s inside a single pillow, though! We certainly doubt our recent pillow purchases in the guilt of animal abuse, but if you’re going to buy down pillows, make sure to get them cleaned professionally.
Melted Plastic, Anyone?
It’s a good idea to check your new grill for any loose bits when you use it for the first time. Like most electronics, there are often plastic sheets to protect the insides from damage, and it only takes a moment to remove them.
Most people seem to just rush into using their new toys rather than actually inspecting them first, and they always pay for it. In this case, they’ve ruined an excellent grill in just a few seconds, and now all they’ve got is the smell of burnt plastic for lunch.
Alternative to File Sharing
The rest of the family had to stifle their laughter as they watched granddad attempting to transfer images to his new phone. He had figured that the best way to do this would be to simply photograph each image on the other phone’s screen.
Finally, someone stepped in and gently tapped his shoulder. “Umm, granddad, you know you could just use Bluetooth to send those, right? Or, even easier – you could send them via text. That’s kind of the whole point of a smartphone!”
Did You Try The Button?
Well, some non-tech savvy people can be excused as simply not knowing better. Others clearly just aren’t looking properly or assume it’s more difficult than it is. When we don’t totally understand something, we often jump to ask for help rather than figure it out ourselves.
This Reddit user’s mom struggled to find Netflix on their new smart TV and, naturally, called on her daughter for her professional tech support. Nancy tried not to embarrass her when she pointed out the big button that clearly displayed the Netflix logo.
Teacher’s Facebook
It must have been awkward when the teacher finally looked up to see why her class was so distracted. They were all giggling and whispering, but she was so absorbed in her Facebook scrolling that she had barely noticed them.
Embarrassingly, she had forgotten to turn off the projector after giving the class a presentation, and all the students had just been staring curiously at her Facebook activity. Of course, none of them said anything – it was much too entertaining to watch.
Computer’s Worst Nightmare
Again, there’s a perfect reason why computer nerds are so protective of their gaming and workspace. There is a multitude of things that could damage their computer, and heat is a huge no-no. This person must have had a heater on high or fire nearby to cause this much damage.
Even the computer looks terrified! Look at that little face created by the audio jacks and USB port. It looks completely shocked! We can just hear it screaming, “Why, master, why? We’re processing those images as fast as we can!”
Horrible DIY
We aren’t sure if this laptop’s backlighting wasn’t working or the keys were just faded beyond recognition. Either way, this user’s solution was to repaint the keys with a bright white correcting ink. Now the keys are super clear and easy to read!
This is the most shocking display of DIY we’ve ever seen on a computer. Good luck selling that thing when you get a new one. If backlighting was the issue, you still haven’t solved it! Come nighttime, that keyboard will be just as invisible as it was before.
Best Put That In Some Rice
Always, and we mean always check your pockets before you put things in the washing machine, especially if you’re into tech gadgets. You never know which of your gadgets may have lingered behind in your pockets. We all know what kind of relationship water and electronics have.
This Reddit user, notw86, learned this lesson the hard way after finding their USB in the bottom of the washing machine. Of course, the data was all gone, and the circuitry was totally fried. We suggest they put it in some rice and see what happens.
Wrong Protector
This phone looks really terrible. It’s clearly taken a ton of scratches, and the screen protector doesn’t look like it’s doing much protecting. In fact, it’s only serving to make it look even worse, with the edge flapping off the side of the phone.
We can only come up with one explanation: The phone’s owner had mistaken the throwaway film of the screen protector as the actual screen protector, which had been entirely useless. We hope they realized this before leaving a sour review on the website.
Not Quite Right
We aren’t sure who needs to hear this, but no, micro USBs can not plug into a normal USB. It would help if you had an adapter for that, but we aren’t sure why you’d need to do that in the first place when you have two perfect cables and a charger.
They probably didn’t realize that the cable can be detached from the charger and that they could simply skip the step of trying to convert the cables. We sincerely hope that a kind family member stepped in to help and that no cables were damaged in the process.
Why Screenshot When You Can Photocopy
We have a few options when you need to capture what’s on your screen to save it for later. You could copy and paste the text in your notes app or simply take a screenshot of the chat. Both of these methods assume that you’ll have access to your phone later.
What do you do if you’re going shopping later and don’t want to take your phone, but you need a screenshot of the shopping list? Simple – you photocopy the entire phone. You’ve got to give it to them… nobody of this new generation would have thought to do this.
Image Transfer
It seems like this guy is confused as to how to share images between phones. Like our other example, he seems to think he needs to take a photo of each image on the other phone. We’re impressed by his solution to keep it steady, though.
He would have had to set it up just right so that the phone was the right distance away to capture the full image, and there was no chance of it rolling off. We hope he’s figured out how to send pictures between phones by now.
That’s What Screenshots Are For
How are there so many people who still think that photocopying their phones is the only way to keep an image? We understand that you’re worried you won’t find it again, but a screenshot will save it for you permanently!
The cashier must have been dumbfounded when this dad excitedly handed him a photocopied image of his phone on which there was a barcode for a discount. He knew better than to say anything, and besides, he couldn’t bear to ruin the man’s good mood.
Designed to Crack
It must feel horrible to crack your brand new iPhone 12 Pro. We want you to know that, while it sucks, you are not alone. These phones are practically designed to break. What do they expect when the back of the phone is made of glass?
That’s exactly how they make so much money. They make products that fizzle out in the shortest time span possible (although they look good doing it) so they can make more money on repairs, or in most cases, new versions. How else would they sell you those expensive covers?