25+ Workers who were baffled by modern technology: 'He picked up the mouse and started to use it like a TV remote'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jul 10, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Some folks are old enough to have lived before computers were in everyone's homes, and now they're expected to learn how to use iPads and iPhones? It's no wonder why Grandpa has to put on his glasses before taking a FaceTime call. He's certainly going to hold that phone at an unflattering angle while talking to you extra loud to ensure you can hear. Even many of our Moms have figured out an iPhone just enough to be a top Candy Crush player, but as for figuring out how to reply to an email on the phone? Well, that's not going to happen. 

Sometimes people make it into the workplace without a lot of technical skill, either. And it's not just older folks: apparently, Gen Z has a lot of issues with using technology, too. Us proud millennials, though we cannot get anything else right in our lives, at least know how to use all sorts of technology well. We took computer classes in school, helped our parents figure out how to use plug-n-play video games, used VCRs and CD players, and now have a fine mastery of cell phones. At least we can help the people around us who haven't figured out Excel spreadsheets or Google docs! 

Next, read about the stepmother who put the kibosh on a vacation for her 4 adult step-kids: 'Their phone calls consist of asking for money." 

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  • 01
    Hannahlynnn30 Coworker once printed out an Excel spreadsheet, filled it in with pen, then scanned it and emailed it back saying "done editing." I ascended into the cloud myself that day.
    via u/Hannahlynnn30
  • 02
    D.. literally today, mum was panicking, she believed that her phone got "hacked" and they locked her out of her bank account (she left her phone on airplane mode)
    via u/D-Rez
  • 03
    TechnicalW I once saw a person "erase" a floppy diskette with a pink rubber eraser.
    via u/TechnicalW****
  • 04
    vaniot2 Lady came to the internet cafe I worked at with someone's Skype info on a piece of paper. I set her up, plug in a mic and cam for her etc. Call starts and she goes "excuse me, they can see and hear me and I can see them but I can barely hear them" and I look over and she's not wearing the
    via u/vaniot2
  • 05
    headphones. And she wasn't old, early twenties. About 10-15 years ago when Skype was peaking.
    via u/vaniot2
  • 06
    DISCIPLINE191 We had a new employee at work who needed to do her online training courses. Got her logged in, she sat down and asked "what do I do?". I told her you just use the mouse to select the next slide button and then answer the questions. She
    via u/DISCIPLINE191
  • 07
    sat there in silence for about 15 seconds before turning to me and asking what the mouse was. This was a woman in her early 30s, not much older than I was.
    via u/DISCIPLINE191
  • 08
    AipomNormal Mo... computer science students who didn't know how download and open zip files
    via u/AipomNormalMonkey
  • 09
    Agnesperdita An elderly relative. We sent her a USB memory stick full of old family photos we'd digitised so she could view them on her laptop. Bear in mind she had had the laptop some time and was using it competently to send emails, have Messenger conversations and download and view pics.
    via u/Agnesperdita
  • 10
    We visited a couple of weeks later and asked how she'd enjoyed the photos. She said she'd tried for hours to get the stick working but the drive just wasn't appearing where the instructions said it should. We asked her if we could try, and she fetched her laptop. We asked where the stick was. She pointed to a drawer. My husband opened the drawer, removed the
    via u/Agnesperdita
  • 11
    stick and inserted it into the USB port. She looked confused. "Oh. Do you have to plug it in? I thought it just worked on the wifi."
    via u/Agnesperdita
  • 12
    Bugaloon When someone asks "is there an app for that?" And when told there isn't, the task is viewed as impossible.
    via u/Bugaloon
  • 13
    FaceToTheSky My mother, who: -could not understand why her phone was doing things she didn't mean it to (she was holding it with her whole hand wrapped around it and her fingers were touching the screen) -prints off pages of google search results
    via u/FaceToTheSky
  • 14
    -does not understand how to save documents in specific places or retrieve them, despite having "files" and "folders" explained to her multiple times and knowing perfectly well how physical files and physical folders work -copies text, by hand, off the screen onto a piece of paper, then transcribes it off the paper into another window
    via u/FaceToTheSky
  • 15
    -somehow ran a successful small business in the late 90s with zero computers because apparently spending hours in the evening crunching numbers with an adding machine was "easier" At this point my siblings and I are (mostly) resigned to the fact that she has spent the past 30+ years actively. resisting learning how to use a computer and she is not
    via u/FaceToTheSky
  • 16
    going to change now. Oh and she doesn't understand cell phone plans either, but that's probably a story for a different thread.
    via u/FaceToTheSky
  • 17
    zerbey My Mum, who I love very much, and is otherwise quite intelligent, is gloriously incompetent when it comes to technology. She grew up on a farm with no electricity or running water and didn't get these amazing luxuries until she was a teenager. Technology to her has always been some kind of black magic I think.
    via u/zerbey
  • 18
    Examples: * First time she used a mouse, picked it up and tried to wave it around to make it work * I remoted into their laptop once to fix it. She asked if the post-it note on the screen was bothering me. I was 4,500 miles away at the time. I told her nah it's fine.
    via u/zerbey
  • 19
    * Bought herself an e- reader. I spent two afternoons patiently explaining how it worked and the very next day got a phone call asking how to turn it on. I think she used it once, then went back to traditional books. * Was shown her house on Google Earth. Told my kids to run outside and wave.
    via u/zerbey
  • 20
    * Called me to say there was a bird chirping in the ceiling. It was the battery for the fire alarm.
    via u/zerbey
  • 21

    We've all been there... Word docs do NOT like to be emailed for some reason

    IWishlHavent "But I created the file on Word, how can I attach it to an e-mail? It's in Word, isn't it?"
    via u/IWishlHavent
  • 22
    MelodyPlath My grandad manages to turn his screen upside down. You had to press 3 keys all over the board at the same time to do it. I'll never know.
    via u/MelodyPlath
  • 23

    If only life worked this way, Grandma!

    threadbarefemur My late grandma once asked me how it was possible for me to check my work email from home. She thought you could only check your email on the same computer that you used to create the email address
    via u/threadbarefemur
  • 24
    FreddieCFry My co-worker asked me to email IT for him because his Outlook was deleted from his computer. Turns out he fell asleep at his desk while working with his hand on the mouse and dragged the shortcut icon to the trash. He didn't know you can open a program from the menu bar.
    via u/FreddieCFry
  • 25
    frygod A guy i knew from the college dorms called for help because his new PC wouldn't turn on. He was pressing the Dell badge like a button. It was not a button.
    via u/frygod
  • 26
    616c Told a user to 'google the company name' to find the official web site. User typed 'aol.com' into the browser. Typed 'google' into the AOL search bar.
    via u/616c
  • 27
    Clicked the link taking them to Google. Typed (literally) 'company name'. User said, "See, I tried this already. It doesn't work."
    via u/616c
  • 28
    okraspberryok I had an employee who asked me how to make Microsoft word move down to the next line. Had to show them how to use the enter key. I had someone ask why a computer was not working, when I looked they just had a monitor (old CRT), no PC at all.
    via u/okraspberryok
  • 29
    I had to send someone out to help someone turn on their PC. They weren't pushing the power button in hard enough...
    via u/okraspberryok
  • 30
    full07britney One time at like 11 o'clock the night before Easter, my mom was trying to get in an account for something and couldn't remember her password. So I told her to do the forgot password thing and that it would email it to her. She very fretfully asked if that would still work even though it was a holiday.
    via u/full07britney
  • 31
    I was confused, and she said she felt sorry for the workers who had to sit work the night before Easter. She was literally picturing some poor workers who just sit at their desks waiting for people to forget their passwords to email out reset links. To this day, I retell this story every time someone talks about computer illiteracy because it was so hilarious.
    via u/full07britney
  • 32
    Flakfingers Employee's desktop was replaced. They claimed they were unable to perform their duties because the new device wasn't set up properly. I got called. I asked what was wrong because nothing stood out and I understood all of our production employees workflows. The picture wasn't right. Not the background, they meant the
    via u/Flakfingers
  • 33
    shortcut icon for the application they use. Confused, I expressed that I believe it is the same (knowing better than to ask why it matters). They are visibly upset and cussing, but after a bit I manage to decipher the issue. The shortcut wasn't in the exact same spot on the screen as the old desktop. I dragged it down 1 grid space. They
    via u/Flakfingers
  • 34
    test. Immediate face of relief, they think it's good now. I'm pretty sure they were actually illiterate. Loved me though because I would always fix their problems.
    via u/Flakfingers
  • 35
    R67H Had a coworker who wanted to learn how to use a computer. I sat him down and started to go through the basic steps to log in. He picked up the mouse and started to use it like a TV remote. "No, Steve... the mouse stays on the desk".
    via u/R67H
  • 36
    'You can't find any of your Excel Spreadsheets, Susan, because you're in Microsoft Word right now.'
    via Desola Lanre-Ologun on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 37
    zeptillian When working a migration project (moving people from XP to windows 7 I think), I ran across someone who had bookmarked the yahoo search results for the word google. Like that's the only way they knew how to get to google.
    via u/zeptillian
  • 38
    jkrap Coworker asked me to print out the animated dancing Spider-Man gif, was confused why it wouldn't dance.
    via u/jkrap
  • 39
    Suzie Musecast I say, "I sent a link to your phone; just touch it with your finger, and it will open the podcast so you can listen." They say, "Well, I'm not good with computers; someone will have to show me." | say, "Just touch it with your finger."
    via u/Suzie Musecast
  • 40
    They say, "OH, good, maybe my son will help me when I go to his house next week, I'm just the worst at technology." I say, "Let's look at it now. See, just touch it, and it plays." They say, "OH, thanks! I hope I can remember when I'm home, if not my son can help me."
    via u/Suzie Musecast
  • 41
    tx2316 Making basic tech-support house calls, I was called out to a woman's apartment. As she described over the phone, the little arrow thing is not in the middle of the screen. So, as any decent tech would do, I came prepared. Even brought a replacement mouse.
    via u/tx2316
  • 42
    I walked in the apartment. The window curtains were open, and the light was streaming in. It was a very pretty day, bright sunshine, so I sat down at the computer. And there was no sign of power. I double checked the plugs, it was a desktop unit, and there was no sign of power. As I looked around.
    via u/tx2316
  • 43
    There was no sign of power anywhere. There was no clock on her microwave. The television was not on. No lightbulbs were turned on. They were in the middle of a blackout!
    via u/tx2316
  • 44
    She called out a computer tech to work on an electrical device, in the middle of a blackout. Because the mouse pointer was not in the middle of the screen. The screen that didn't have power. I still remember that day, all these years later. It was a unique experience.
    via u/tx2316
  • 45
    Double Deckerz My friend tried to log into his email by typing his email and password into Google.
    via u/Double Deckerz
  • 46
    burner46 My old manager used to have people request documents so she would print them, scan them, and then email them.
    via u/burner46
  • 47
    Nothing Various7... My friend's husband was trying to turn his wife's desktop computer on to work on a resume and he was getting really frustrated. He kept pressing the on/off button and it would not turn
    via u/Nothing Various7
  • 48
    on. He yelled downstairs for his wife (my friend) to come. and troubleshoot... turns out he was turning the monitor on/off and had no idea you had to turn the actual computer on. He's 34.
    via u/Nothing Various7
  • 49
    AllTheWine05 I used to teach people how to run software for high end QA/QC equipment. Your think that would mean you get a lot of engineers and such, but the region I covered wasn't the brightest. More importantly, factories are usually built in podunk towns in BFE regions so they can abe the workforce since they're the only game in town. And
    via u/AllTheWine05
  • 50
    the quality control departments are typically treated like redheaded stepchildren, so they're basically one step up from janitor in the pecking order. Anyway, in one of the first classes I taught, there was this white haired old lady who just looked like she was struggling just to drive down a road. She has never used computers to check the
    via u/AllTheWine05
  • 51
    parts her factory made, just hand tools like calipers and gage blocks and such. Her factory bought on elf my brand new $120,000 machines to check parts because that's what their customer wanted them to use. But they didn't have anyone to program. But Betty here (or whatever her name was) has spent 30 years at the company measuring parts, so she's
    via u/AllTheWine05
  • 52
    obviously the right one to learn the new technology, right? Well, this training went on for a full week but she was stuck on day one. There was something that you'd have to do at some point in the software that she just couldn't understand. That thing that she couldn't do? Control+click or shift+click.
    via u/AllTheWine05
  • 53
    I spent a week trying to teach her how to hold one button and press another. She could hit control and then click, but hold it while clicking? Nope. Beyond this woman's abilities.
    via u/AllTheWine05
  • 54
    Mogus0226 Had a woman come up to me in tears. "I can't find any of my Excel Spreadsheets! They're all gone!" She was payroll, so I was like "Uh oh." go over to her computer and she's clicking like a madwoman, "Look! They're all gone! I can't find any of them and payroll is due tomorrow!! HELP!!"
    via u/Mogus0226
  • 55
    "You can't find any of your Excel Spreadsheets, Susan, because you're in Microsoft Word right now." It was actually kind of sad watching her deflate when she realized how dumb she was at that moment.
    via u/Mogus0226

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