Trina Lynne

When I was young, any time my mother didn’t know how to use anything involving the computer, me and my sisters would say, “Man, you’re old.” My dad was, and still is, a technological genius, so even if we wanted to breathe the word “old” in that regard, we couldn’t. We always had the latest gadgets in our home, so I was always ahead of the curve growing up.

Now, not so much.

My teenage daughter is constantly calling me old when I ask for her help with one site or another. Or when I am not 100% sure how a particular program works. Everything has changed since I was young and at an alarmingly fast pace too.

Over the weekend I found myself taking courses, trying to figure out certain websites that I’m not great with. It’s quite embarrassing.

I still haven’t gotten Vine down to a science with all its possibilities in a few short seconds and I don’t take photos enough to use Instagram. Pinterest reminds me of a cork board with way too many ideas going on and using LinkedIn makes me feel like an outcast trying to be a part of the in crowd. YouTube videos are fun to watch but uploading them is a pain in the neck when the audio and video don’t sync up right. Blogger has too few gadgets while WordPress has too many and I’m never sure of which ones will work perfectly for my style.

Those aren’t the only popular sites I struggle with getting the hang of either. Seriously, do you know how long it took me to get used to Twitter and its 140 characters, hashtags and trends?!

Sadly, these and others are sites I need for work. They tend to leave me confused and with a headache if I stay on too long. Having to go from one site to another to generate buzz and network with fellow literary folk has me cross-eyed most days.

Regardless of all the websites, gadgets and programs, I will get back ahead of the curve. Not just for work purposes, but also because I loved when people came to me with tech questions and I could give them more than the DUH look.

Besides, anything is better than hassling my teen and hearing, “Man, you’re old.”

Until next time.