How In Touch With The World Are Your Parents / Older Relatives?

Big Nasty

Gotta say my folks are pretty much together with new s**t! Both near 70, both very liberal in realtion to sexual orientation, mild drug useage, internet, texting, etc. Very up to date on the goings on in the world and it dosen't phase them.

I was in a fast food joint earlier today and saw a granny with her grandchildren all sitting down having a spot of lunch while the granny emailed via her PDA whilst also keeping a watchful eye on the (very well behaved) kids. Later spooted her strapping the two kids into the back of her green convertible beetle - musta been 72+!

Great to see older folk that are with it without being 'the oldest swingers in town' and it's such a pleasure to be able to sit down with an older generation like this and have a wise, yet fun and up-to -date conversation! Older folks like this are gems and can provide us with huge knowledge whilst relating to today's trends.

How does your clan hold up? How much do you value their opinions or are they all just old hat?

owenc

Oh yes my dad is very in touch with the world, he has all the lastest gadjets and reads and reads different sites for weeks before he buys something to see which is best. Btw i see auld woman in mc donalds in the town every single time i go in there whats so odd about that, maybe they've only started coming to yours?? They've only came to mines for about 1 year and then before that it was rare to see them.

alwaysadub

My mam thinks she knows a lot more bout what's going on than she really does!
She's nearly 70 and can email and text, but anything more complicated than that and she gets into trouble.
She's forever going on bout how she heard how much a bit of cocaine is, or that kids are doing such and such, but she's usually wrong. I've given up trying to argue with her bout it, i usually just let her think she's right.

KeithM89_old

My Dad has an iPad, hdtv and a load of gadgets around the house. My mam thought an iPad was just a paper notepad before he got it.

owenc

alwaysadub wrote: »

My mam thinks she knows a lot more bout what's going on than she really does!
She's nearly 70 and can email and text, but anything more complicated than that and she gets into trouble.
She's forever going on bout how she heard how much a bit of cocaine is, or that kids are doing such and such, but she's usually wrong. I've given up trying to argue with her bout it, i usually just let her think she's right.

Lol my granny trys to do that sometimes but if i aruged with her she'd give me a lecture for about 2 hours about it telling me to be respectfull and all this crap.:rolleyes::rolleyes: She'd actually get that bad that my mum and her sisters would leave and go home! Shes done it plenty of times.

Big Nasty

Both your parents sound quite 'with it' to me!

Kimono-Girl

lol my mum has and can work an iphone/e-mail...etc she drives a motorbike, passed her test last week, went to JLS in the marquee, and is completely upto date on everything...

My grandmother is down with the teenage lingo can work the iphone, and is driving a honda jazz sports model at 71!!!!

im so proud of them both for trying to stay young though!!!

merengueca

I remember the time my granny tried to be down wiv the yoof! She made us chips and frozen pizza all cooked together in the frying pan on top of the turf range. (My brother got the sh*ts the time she cooked him a chicken kiev the same way!)

storm2811

My mam's not great with technology,even though she works in an office and sells broadband ffs..:pac:

Up to date with everything else though,real open minded about everything.
I have a feeling my uncle down the road doesn't know what the internet is though.

CreepingDeath

MCMLXXV wrote: »

How In Touch With The World Are Your Parents / Older Relatives?

My granny texts me on the ouija board.

phasers

They're... ok. They can both use mobiles, my Mam can use an ipod and my Dad can use the internet. That's kind of their limit.

stovelid

I don't want trendy parents.

Yuck.

El Weirdo

My mother just called me a wanker. She's pretty with it, it seems.

My name is URL

Not very, not very at all. My mam still asks me why I don't go to mass.. and she was in Dublin today & instead of going to the Grand Canal with a tour, she and her friends went shopping for duvet covers

bleg

In touch but increasingly right wing and racist.

phasers

My name is URL wrote: »

Not very, not very at all. My mam still asks me why I don't go to mass.. and she was in Dublin today & instead of going to the Grand Canal with a tour, she and her friends went shopping for duvet covers

My Mam always does that when we go to town, she drags me to all of the separate Guineys shops (There's about 8 along one street and they all carry exactly the same stock) looking for fcuking valance sheets.

Mike 1972

bleg wrote: »

In touch
but increasingly right wing and racist.

Contradiction ?

Novella

My dad can send one text - 'Okdad'. He hasn't figured out how to do spaces yet, and he thinks it's vital to sign off his text messages with 'dad'. If you send him a message that is more than a page long... well... he hasn't got around to learning how to scroll down either! :pac:

owenc

Novella wrote: »

My dad can send one text - 'Okdad'. He hasn't figured out how to do spaces yet, and he thinks it's vital to sign off his text messages with 'dad'. If you send him a message that is more than a page long... well... he hasn't got around to learning how to scroll down either! :pac:

LOL god help him when he has to get a new phone!

Ms. Captain M

Was having dinner with my da and aunty last week both in their 70's and something came on the news about drugs. My aunty was eating mushrooms and she said "oh lord, I hope these aren't the ones that will get me 'higher' " and my da said "no a bitta whack is what ya want, whack's the right job". The same aunty when she saw my then 6 year old riding his bike she said "isn't he great, shur ya wouldn't see it in America". So no wouldn't have the most clued in relatives

bleg

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Contradiction ?

Plenty of racist twitters out there!

My name is URL

phasers wrote: »

My Mam always does that when we go to town, she drags me to all of the separate Guineys shops (There's about 8 along one street and they all carry exactly the same stock) looking for fcuking valance sheets.

And the worst thing is that she calls into me to show me these new majestical bed clothes.. "oh URL, they were reduced from over 9000 to just under three fiddy" and I'm like ffffffffffffffuuuuuu

Loopy

merengueca wrote: »

I remember the time my granny tried to be down wiv the yoof! She made us chips and frozen pizza all cooked together in the frying pan on top of the turf range. (My brother got the sh*ts the time she cooked him a chicken kiev the same way!)

lol
I remember once trying to get my nan when she was alive to try pizza. We bought this pizza at a Deli and got everything put on it [I was determined to get her to like it, think there was fillet steak an all on it ffs). Anyhow, I put it in the oven and went for a shower and told her not to touch it. Came down, she says ''I just turned that pizza thingy love'.. onions, peppers, everything at the bottom of the oven and she takes out a rock hard bit of dough:mad: See I told you love, fresh food is much nicer than that pizza stuff you eat.

bazmaiden

My dad is early 50's and said to me, on quite a few occasions, when my phone gets a message

"who are ya faxing now?"

needless to say he's not down with technology

patakadarragh

Ask my father what his favourite item of clothing is and he will reply,"cowboy hats"(he has 4).....says it all really.

Dudess

Both in their mid 60s. My mother's fairly Joe Duffy listener-ish when it comes to drugs and sexual practices, but she swears, has a bawdy sense of humour, and thinks a lot of the music we listen to is good. She has been using a mobile for years - morto when she uses textspeak, and she has a mp3 player and can use the internet.

My dad... hasn't got a ****ing clue about anything. Only recently mastered texting and can barely use the net. Although I'd say he wouldn't be as worried about substances as he dabbled a teeny bit in the 60s himself. Whenever I was caught drinking or smoking as a kid, he wouldn't say anything to me, whereas my mother freaked. Musically, he barely listens to anything from past the mid 60s.

bleg

patakadarragh wrote: »

Ask my father what his favourite item of clothing is and he will reply,"cowboy hats"(he has 4).....says it all really.

Actually quite with the times.

Mike 1972

Dudess wrote: »

My mother's fairly Joe Duffy listener-ish when it comes to drugs and sexual practices

Is that as bad as or worse than Daily Mail reader-ish ?:pac:

anniehoo

phasers wrote: »

They're... ok. They can both use mobiles, my Mam can use an ipod and my Dad can use the internet. That's kind of their limit.

I can barely work an ipod..let alone the iPhone or iPad! I only figure out tech sh!t as it goes out fashion.Ive never seen a full episode of the Simpsons either but somehow found my way here.

Ah..i dunno!

Le King

Yup, fully up to date with everything really.

Jibbs

I was going to buy the Auld Wan the whole digital with Sky+ for Christmas. Spent a good 45 minutes explaining the concept of pause/rewind T.V. Eventually told the loopy old bint to stick to VHS. Had to explain what VHS was too.
I showed her her gaff on google earth a couple of years ago. She wanted to know why she couldn't see the dog running around in the garden. I told her that there was a 20 minute time lag and she'd see the dog soon.
She still plays cassettes too. She wrote out a list of about a bajillion songs for me to download. I did so, put them on a wad of CDs, gave them to her and, she said, "Ah no, I wanted them on tape".
When I get hold of those c@nts at the adoption board heads will role.

vampire of kilmainham

I KNOW EVERYTHING:D:D:D:D:D:D

vampire of kilmainham

phasers wrote: »

My Mam always does that when we go to town, she drags me to all of the separate Guineys shops (There's about 8 along one street and they all carry exactly the same stock) looking for fcuking valance sheets.

TELL HER TO GET THEM ON EBAY:D:D:D

Azureus

Love my mammy but dear god she has not got a clue. Getting better in all fairness to her-bought her a computer last xmas and shes getting a dab hand at the internety malarky thanks to many long winded tutorials

But the main thing is cost and value-she is crazy outta touch with the price of things! Said to me the other day 'where did u get that top, its lovely!' My reply 'Thanks, only a tenner from H&M!' and a heart attack almost ensued! 'TEN EURO?? For a top??' Haha! Prob shouldnt show her my laser card bill :P

PeterIanStaker

My grandmother, who is in her 80's, uses Skype to talk to one of my uncles who works abroad.

sinjin_smythe

Yeah skype is hilarious with my oul wan, its like they are using morse code or something, and if people dont hear them they shout louder into the mike.

Superbus

My mum's very politically aware and all that, but technologically she is truly hilarious. Just yesterday, for instance, she was forwarding an e-mail.

'Superbus, how do you forward an e-mail?'

'You click on "forward" mum.'

'Ah, I saw that but I thought I'd lose the e-mail.'

Yeah. She also is one of those who thinks the programme is gone forever when it's minimised, and for whom tabbed browsing is a theory too far.