50 Of The Funniest Times That Old People Failed At Using Something Correctly

When we think about the expansion of the internet in the last thirty years, it’s hard to imagine a world without it, or even a time before it. Although the younger generation has an increasing dependence on it, the previous generations got by just fine without it.

So, this begs the question of why older people would need it at all. It can be tricky trying to explain the benefits and fun of it to someone that still doesn’t know what “an internet” is.

To get some insights on why it’s important for all ages to use the internet, I spoke to Kascha Cassaday, one of the co-founders of 'Cyber Seniors'. Their company provides free training and technology support for senior citizens from tech-savvy student volunteers.

Kascha told Bored Panda, “The pandemic proved more than ever the importance of being tech literate. As we were all stuck at home, we relied on video calls to decrease social isolation. As seniors age and their mobility decreases, technology will keep them independent and connected.”

Learning something new is difficult for anybody, not at least for older people. So, there can be some teething issues when trying to use the internet on your own. Combine that with the naivety of what is socially acceptable to share online and not knowing the modus operandi of online communities, and you have the results shown here. 

Although the internet has officially been around for a long time, seeing and sharing funny examples of the elderly misusing it has only appeared in recent times. So, why are pages like r/OldPeopleFacebook only popping up now?

There’s a number of factors that account for it, and if you bear with us, it’s interesting to look at. Like we mentioned about ‘Moore’s Law’, technology is becoming more advanced as time goes on. It’s also becoming cheaper and therefore, more available too.

A perfect example of this is our computers and internet speeds. Anyone who remembers booting up a bulky beige box and having to listen to the sound of robots screaming to access the internet in the early ‘90s will understand what we mean. Computers with dial-up were slow back then.

Nowadays, we have the internet in the palm of our hands with smartphones, and we always seem to be connected wherever we go. This makes it easier to enjoy all the benefits that it brings. Whether it’s staying connected with family and friends or checking out the latest fun stuff on Bored Panda, there’s plenty of joy to be had. 

And it seems the younger generations want their parents and grandparents to join in too. In an ongoing survey conducted by Pew Research Center, the results show that the numbers of elderly US citizens using the internet are gradually increasing year upon year. When the study first started in the year 2000, only 14% of over-65s said they’d used it. Currently, 75% of people in the same age range now use it regularly.