# How bad are your parents with the internet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741 "2008-06-22T01:48:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741/41 "2008-06-22T20:34:46Z")
Both nearly 60. My dad’s better at using the internet than computers in general, but both are creatures of habit. My mother is routinely resizing all her photos, for example, and I think it’s a hangover from when they were still on dialup and this was the only practical way to email them. At least dad’s got the hint of the Snopes links I’ve sent him in reply to some of his emails… ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741/42 "2008-06-22T20:36:46Z")
Actually, I was a bit harsh on them there. She does manage to do grocery shopping online, although it’s no quicker than driving to the store and stopping to have a few gossips as you walk round. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741/43 "2008-06-22T21:22:13Z")
My 90-year-old grandfather has a blog. If by blog you mean “sends a mass email to everyone in his AOL address book daily.” I try not to be annoyed, because I know I’ll miss it when he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741/44 "2008-06-22T21:32:14Z")
My mom is 79 and has been using the internet for four years. She bought a computer and then took classes on using it at the senior center, which I thought was a great idea. She does not pass on every bit of glurge etc that she gets. Go Mom! As a matter of fact she told a cousin’s wife that she was going to block her email if she (cousin’s wife) didn’t stop sending all that stuff. 😃 All you who are talkin’ about parents in their 50s using the internet and computers makes my almost 54 year old self want to yell, “get off’n mah lawn!” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741/45 "2008-06-22T21:48:47Z")
[QUOTE=swampbear] makes my almost 54 year old self want to yell, “get off’n mah lawn!” 😛 [/QUOTE] That’s right! We had to _make_ our own computers! Out of _rocks_! And we were _damn happy_ to have them! ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741/46 "2008-06-22T22:30:04Z")
One time my mom and I (She’s Mid 70’s) were driving around looking for a store. We knew we were in the right area, but couldn’t find it. I was getting exasperated, when she said to me “Do you have internet access on your cell phone?” I said yes, and she got it out, googled the store and found it on Googlemaps. I was shocked, as she had never asked me anything about the internet, and I had just assumed it was not something that interested her… I knew she had a computer, but had assumed she used it primarily for “off line” stuff, like word processing and personal record keeping. Turns out she is on line and primarily uses it to play scrabble with her friends… go figuire ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741/47 "2008-06-22T23:15:24Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] The one weird thing she keeps doing, and I have no idea how, is accessing my husband’s OLD Amazon wishlist. She enters his name correctly and all, but four times over three years now, she’s bought him something that was taken off his wishlist at least three months prior to her purchase. It’s bizarre and unduplicatable by any other person. [/QUOTE] Amazon directs me to my dad’s old wishlist, too. I have no idea how you get stuck in that loop or how you get back out of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-are-your-parents-with-the-internet/453741.md?page=2)