Learning tech and computer skills isn’t hard and there should be no excuse for not knowing how to copy-paste efficiently.

Lacking Basic Computer Skills

I was watching a video the other day by Undine Almani where she was talking about how people are so tech illiterate these days and that they’re incapable of trying to fix their own stuff. More along the lines of refusing to just learn the basics of how to fix basic computer issues. All of this I pretty much agree with.

I’ll take it a step further and say that the newer generations don’t really know how to use a computer; but they do know how to use a tablet/smartphone and the corresponding apps.

As a second language teacher in both France and the United States, I’ve had the pleasure of watching university students give oral presentations each semester. More often than not, they’re required to have a digital aid so their classmates can follow along with what they’re talking. Plus, it can act as notes for the student since they’re not allowed to read from a script. Anyway, there tend to be two camps of students: those who use a USB stick and those that use a cloud program.

The cloud program users aren’t too bad when it comes to pulling up their presentation. It’s usually a Canva, Google Sheets, or Powerpoint presentation. A couple even used Prezi (that’s a throwback…). Regardless, it only really requires a login into the given website and away you go. Of course, these days, two-factor authentication is rampant everywhere, especially with Google and the number of students that forget that this is a thing baffles me. They always leave their phone at their desk, so they then have to go run and grab it to do the authentication, and it’s just a waste of time in the end. It’s not like it’s gonna help their classmates to waste that much time, but whatever. Not that important. Eventually, they get their presentation up and running and then it’s a hunt for the maximize button or presentation-mode. At least they get it up and running eventually.

Now the USB kids…… they’re a different story. It’s actually quite comical to watch them struggle so much, but it’s also a huge face-palm knowing that what’s taking them 5-minutes takes me 30 seconds. So, first, they always struggle to find the USB port on the university computers, which are all the same. Then, once it’s plugged in that’s when the chaos ensues. They don’t know where the drive is located (like most universities, regardless of country, they’re Windows PCs) to open up their file. They hunt around on the desktop to see if it pops up anywhere, they go to the start menu to see if it’s easily located there, and eventually, one of their classmates or I will point out that they need to click the yellow file folder on the task bar to see the USB’s drive slot/name. You laugh and think it couldn’t get any worse, but it sure does. The moment they open their USB, all you see on the screen is a massive list of unorganized documents with the most incoherent names imaginable OR your standard “document1”, “document2”, “document3”, etc. How they can find anything is beyond me… But, seriously, did no one teach them how to organize their files into coherent directories for each class, subject, and project? It’s actually insane. They also hunt for the maximize/presentation button, like their cloud using peers. But man, what is up here?

“Learned Helplessness”

So, on this topic, I came across yet another video that was talking about “learned helplessness” and why current generations can’t seem to Google things or work with technology in the same way my generation and older can. She pointed out something interesting that I hadn’t really thought about too much before hand: they learn how to use apps, but they don’t learn how to use desktop or laptop computers. Their parents would give them their smartphone to play games on or the family tablet. But, a computer was nowhere to be found in that equation. Therefore, children wouldn’t learn how to type, how to navigate directories and software, and how to correctly search using Google.

Now, I’m not saying it’s the parents’ fauly in the negative sense, but it is their fault. Additionally, however, it’s the fault of schools. I had computer lab time during my time in school from elementary through high school. We also had a family desktop computer, but let’s stick with school. That time in the computer labs was spent learning how to type, how to use library search engines and the Google search engine, how to structure and organize personal files, how to use the main programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) at a basic level, and so much more. In brief, I learned most of my computer skills in school, then ‘honed’ those skills at home for homework assignments or just for doing my own things. However, through my dealings with the newer generations in conversation and from reading Reddit (not a great idea…), they don’t seem to get the same level of computer-savy knowledge that I grew up with, nor are they being asked to do hands-on tasks with programs that even my grandparents can execute more fluently than they can.

This is an interesting thing to talk about because, as the presenter in the “learned helplessness” video pointed out, the newer generations just don’t know how to use computers because they never learned and were never “forced” to learn how to use them and use them efficiently. Which then comes to the question of why do they still suck at computers when they’re nearing the end of university? They have tons of projects they have to complete throughout their years in university, yet their abilities with a computer still don’t improve.

This isn’t just a newer generation problem, either, as I’ve noticed through working for university administration in France that even administrators of my age and older haven’t improved in their computer usage. Based on my own observations so, I’ve only seen one of my fellow admins able to touch type and touch type at a good pace. Everyone else uses the horrendous hunt and peck method while starting down at the keyboard instead of the screen. Now, to be fair, the French keyboard is absolutely attrocious for typing. You have to use shift for numbers and worst of all to add a period. It’s no wonder French people can’t write short sentences, especially in English… Of course, being able to touch-type isn’t really a sign of tech literacy, but it’s still a fundamental skill that was taught to me in school in about fifth grade. Then we never touched the subject again so I had to develope the skill myself, but that’s beside the point.

However, it’s not just touch-typing that people can’t seem to perform but general navigation of a computer at an efficient pace. For example, copy-paste. The shortcuts are so ingrained into my muscle memory at this point that I can usually do the keystroke combination by touch, depending on the keyboard I’m using. But others, even students of the newer generation STILL use the right-click menu to select copy, then select paste in the destination window. How have they not learned to use

However, it’s not just touch-typing that people can’t seem to perform but general navigation of a computer at an efficient pace. For example, copy-paste. The shortcuts are so ingrained into my muscle memory at this point that I can usually do the keystroke combination by touch, depending on the keyboard I’m using. But others, even students of the newer generation STILL use the right-click menu to select copy, then select paste in the destination window. How have they not learned to use the proper keystroke combinations control-c and control-v? It actually boggles my mind. One could argue that it’s because Apple uses command instead, but that’s not really an excuse at the end of the day. They’re still pretty similar in some of their basic keystroke hot-keys. Hell, even Alt-Tab doesn’t seem to be a part of anyone’s computer vocabulary. To be fair, though, most people are mouse-as-often-as-possible users so I can’t totally blame them.

Lack of curiosity or continued stigma?

Information about computers, how to use them, and how to get more efficient with them isn’t hard to find, though it’s pretty overwhelming. However, to give credit where credit is due, is it just a lack of curiosity in tech and how to ‘get gud’ that’s a part of everyone’s thought process, or could their still be a stigma around those who are good with computers? I don’t really think it’s the latter to be honest because I’ve seen enough people I’ve come accross from all walks of life that are very proficient with a computer from PhDs in French Literature to Electrical Engineers to English students. Not to mention the plethora of YouTube videos out there with proficient computer-users. But, that’s still not the average.

Therefore, I would generally argue on the side of ‘lack of curiosity’ toward tech and computer literacy. Sure, it takes a lot of time and practice to get proficient with a computer. It’s a tool after all and and most tools, no matter how basic, require time to get used to and master at the end of the day. I’m not saying that anyone will see overnight success if they were to start learning to become proficient with computers and tech in general, but taking at least a few steps wouldn’t hurt. And I think that might be the crux of the issue: it takes time.

Everyone complains about not having time for X, Y, or Z task. I’m no different. Not gonna lie about that. But, the amount of time one can save just by learning even a few simple keyboard shortcuts, over the long haul, will be worth the time investment upfront. I’m definitely not saying that everyone needs to be using the Command Line, Linux, and NeoVim hot-keys for everything. Even I don’t do that (at least, not well or regularly, lol). Learning the basic copy-paste keys, window switching, and ctl-del/ctl-Backspace would go a long way in increasing one’s comfort with a computer. For those that don’t know ctl-del/ctl-Backspace are hot-keys to delete whole words forward or backward instead of character-by-character.

Moving Forward

It doesn’t stop at hot-keys, though. I think people need to become more comfortable with how computers are structured, how they work, how to troubleshoot basic problems, and how to be somewhat proficient with them. The majority of the modern-day work environment takes place on a computer, whether it’s a Mac, Windows, or Linux machine, all professional work is done on them. It’s not done on tablets and smartphones. Additionally, by learning the basics, there will be a far greater confidence boost in the general population to not need to bother the IT department everytime something goes wrong. If it’s a small thing that can easily be fixed, you can then fix it yourself. That way, when a major issue arrises, you can call the IT guys with less worry that they won’t be able to get to you immediately. It would make everyone’s lives so much easier.

Also, learn your software tools for wherever you’re working, even if they suck (I’m looking at you, APOGEE…). The main hot-keys, where to find things, and how to read the documentation. By being comfortable with your tools, you will become more proficient than some of the most senior employees in your workplace just because you took the time to learn your tools inside and out. Now, reading the documentation isn’t always easy because it’s not always the most comprehensible thing to read. It’s also, more often than not, really not that interesting to read. But, by reading the documentation, you can learn the nitty-gritty details of your tools and maybe some cool tricks to better navigate said tools. Not to mention the fact that you won’t have to bother your coworkers as much to figure out how to use your tools. You can learn how to do things in your down time, no problem. Or, just learn Python, lol.

All-in-all, tech and computer literacy shouldn’t be that difficult to acheive, and it’s really not if you take the small chunks of time you have to dedicate to learning just a few things to improve your tech life. By being more proficint with computers, you can outshine those that don’t and become a more organized individual and build confidence in your ability to learn new skills and understand technical language. Computers are more available to learn about than many other things that need fixing. They’re not that scary and are pretty easy to fix if you mess something up while learning. There should be no excuse for it taking an entire hour to type out a well crafted email just because you can’t type properly. You shouldn’t have to call IT for basic WiFi connection problems because you forgot to turn on your WiFi setting. And, stop using menus for basic functions like copy-paste. It’s slow and mind-numbing to watch and perform. Everyone can learn to use a computer proficiently, it just takes a little time and dedication.

…also, go learn Linux XD