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23 People Who Lack Basic Computer Skills

You may not think it's impressive that you're reading this right now. But it means you have basic computer skills many people are lacking.


No, really! Plenty of people can barely turn a PC on, and here are some skills Reddit users lack to achieve basic computer literacy.

1.

Had a situation happen with an older coworker when I worked at Pizza Hut who knew I was in college for CS. She walked up to me with gusto and says, "I need a windproof WIFI router because the wind keeps blowing it away" then when I tried to explain to her that wind doesn't blow away WIFI. I kid you not, this lady goes, "No wonder you can't get a job in computers"

A couple of hours later, she's outside on the phone cussing out the ISP because they told her the same thing I did. Turns it was orchestrated by her grandson telling her to ask for windproof routers. Like when your dad tells you to go into AutoZone to ask for blinker fluid.

Quote, u/dildopooman

2.

My mom kept noticing that my stepdad would turn on CAPS LOCK to capitalize a sentence, but then forget to turn it off so his whole sentence would be in caps, and he would get frustrated and have to delete it and start over.... She showed him about the Shift button and how it'll capitalize that letter if you're holding it down.

This just happened. Like last week. He's been employed in the legal system (think lawyer, clerk, prosecutor, etc) in my county for the last 40+ years. He's been in an office setting this entire time.

Quote, u/klashnut

3.

Reading. You don’t know how many family members have asked me to come help them because something popped up. Them “Why is it popped up?” - box says update will happen tonight - Me “There is an update coming, nothing to worry about” - Them “oh wow, I’m so bad with this I wish I understood it like you” - ITS IN PLAIN ENGLISH JUST READ THE SCREEN GOD D*MMIT - u/TonyAtCodeleakers

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4.

I once did a bit of tutoring for folk, and I remember one lady asked how she could open Word. So I told her to move the mouse pointer over the Word Icon and double click on it, to which she replied "Oh no, I can't do that. I don't like those mice thingies..."Quote, u/Killieboy16

5.

Shape recognition.

Does the end of the cable look like the hole in the machine? It's amazing how many people can't figure that out at work.

Quote, u/Market0

6.

Them: “My computer turns on, but my monitor doesn’t show the picture!”

Me: “Is your monitor plugged in and connected to the back of your PC?”

Them: “No, I needed to use that outlet so I unplugged it”

Me: :(

Quote, u/NinthOman

7.

Not recognizing a scam email when it’s really obvious

Quote, u/Retrosonic82

8.

How to close a browser. Quote, u/UnknownKing02

9.

I had a colleague who complained about her computer being slow after lunch. Took a look, and it turns out she was using 'minimize' instead of 'close' after reading emails - had over 200 emails open!

Quote, u/kryptopeg

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10.

Not knowing what double click means

Quote, u/CCChic1

11.

Not knowing how to enter a URL. I've tried to get people to enter a URL over the phone and they just put it in the Google search bar (usually after first going to google.com).

Quote, u/SkippyNordquist

12.

Just navigating Windows Explorer, and the organization of files. The amount of people who just stick every single file on their desktop is crazy, and they're not arranged in any particular order. When they need to find a file they have to peer all-around their desktop to find it.

Quote, u/LucyVialli

13.

You'd be surprised how many folks don't know what to type in to search engines to find what they're looking for.

Quote, u/CliffPromise

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14.

Not realizing that there is more written in an email beyond the preview.Apparently, all emails are only a few sentences long and typically trail off mid-sentence according to this person.Quote, u/e_likes_plants

15.

Copy and paste shortcutsQuote, u/Joeyjackhammer

16.

Knowing how to save or open a document. I'm not kidding. I work with teenagers.Quote, u/BlazeRiddle

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17.

The ability to follow a step-by-step how-to instructions.Example, I worked with a place that used a lot of pictures files. There was an issue where we couldn't open .jpeg files, but .jpg were okay. So you would have to rename the files to .jpg. I got my first batch of ~100 .jpeg files and said, "there must be an easier way." Everyone insisted you have to do it one by one. So I looked it up online and found it you can change file extensions in bulk using the command prompt. It literally took five steps. I made an easy-to-follow instructional document with screens shots, and passed it around to everyone. I thought they'd be very thankful that I saved them hours of work.A month later I caught them renaming each file one by one. I didn't say anything.Quote u/BiggieWedge

18.

Been working in IT long enough to where people not having basic computer skills doesn't shock me anymore. But still, how do people never figure out that you can search for programs in the start menu?

"My Outlook is gone!"

hits start and types Outlook

Oh, there it is! How'd you find it?

Quote, u/iamdougiescoffee

19.

The amount of people that can't function if there isn't a shortcut on their desktop is astounding.Quote, u/Rysilk

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20.

That turning it off and back on is a solution to most common problemsQuote, u/AgentCramwell

21.

Ctrl+F. So useful, and so many people I know don't use it.Quote, u/SauerkrautJr

22.

Just opening up and closing a tab on a browser... and also not knowing what I mean when I say "What browser do you use?".

Quote, u/ItAllEndsSomeday

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23.

People often forget they can google stuff instead of posting questions on social media.

Quote, u/d_eng19

24.

How to open task manager when everything is freezing and force quit programs. Ctr+alt+del was one of the first things my mom taught me on our home computer back in '95.

Quote, u/Seer42

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