I forget where this came from, but I wrote it down, because it hits home. So I’m sharing it here. (My apologies to whomever first wrote this).
(Also: Sorry, mom/dad/grandpa, etc… If on the off-chance you see this. I’m betting you won’t. Hah…)
Edit: Source was here: http://langer.tumblr.com/post/267934042
Going on twenty years now I’ve played the part of all-purpose-computer-and-technical-support-grunt for my family. I wish to finally disabuse myself of this ignominious title and terminate all these bothersome, unpaid retainers.
There are three reasons I wish to do this.
It’s discourteous.
Whenever one of them asks me for computer help my immediate thought is that I can likely accomplish whatever the task may be in a fraction of the time that he or she can, and being a generous person it’s the least I can do to save him the time. Yet I’m horrible in the kitchen, and I can’t recall the last time I asked my mother to come over and slice vegetables for me simply because she’s better at it. Why? Because it’s her time. Who am I to ask it of her?
It’s professionally insulting.
I’m an engineer who uses computers to build systems for the web, and this is just one among countless different ways to use them. People use computers to decode the human genome, and others use them to discover subatomic particles. I don’t know the first thing about DNA or bosons simply because I also use computers, just as these people might not know the first thing about what I do simply because they use the same tools I do. So no, I can’t help you with your PowerPoint presentation or your Excel spreadsheet because I don’t fucking know Microsoft Office, and I find it insulting that you’re willing to have so little understanding of what I do to expect me to. When’s the last time you asked your optometrist for tips on heart health simply because he’s also a doctor?
But it’s not just insulting to me. When you ask me to make a website for you you’re not just disrespecting me, you’re disrespecting an entire field of designers by assuming their task to be so menial that anyone familiar with computers can do it.
It’s enabling.
The personal computer and the internet are as important and lauded as they are because of the massive productivity boost and research potential that they afford every one of us. If you’re not willing to learn the fundamentals of these tools then you’re simply holding yourself back, and I’m only enabling this by taking care of everything for you. You see, I’m not a trained network technician, and yet I can fix your router only because many years ago I was willing to actually use computers and learn how to perform the tasks that are associated with them—and you can, too. Your fear of these tools will only diminish with your familiarity with them, and that can only come by doing.
So I’m sorry, fam. From here on out you can just let me google that for you.
