Kids today! According to a press release from iiNet, these little upstarts are feigning ignorance when it comes to technology matters so they don’t end up with the unpaid title of resident IT support person.
While the press release is pushing the ISP’s BoBsquad service, it’s the numbers from the Newspoll study it commissioned that are interesting. The study found that 49 per cent of 18-34 year olds are being asked by family and friends for tech support. Of that number, one in three feigns ignorance so they don’t have to spend time setting up nanna’s email client.
I’m of the philosophy that the earlier I help my family and friends, the less work I’ll have to do in the long run. I got extremely frustrated last year when a relative bought a USB wireless Telstra connection for her home internet connection without consulting with me, because now she’s locked in a 24-month contract and can’t connect anything but her laptop to the internet.
While the study has numbers of people who pretenfd to be stupid to avoid working, there’s no explanation of why, other than it can become a “chore”. I’ve never looked at it that way, but then again, I write about technology for a living.
Have you ever pretended to not know something techie that you did know in order to avoid helping family or friends? Why? Let us know below.