this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2024
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Idk how old your mother is but my dad is 80 (I'm 53) and he doesn't understand windowing at all. I always thought it strange he has never figured it out. Even phone UIs baffle him. Older generations inability to grasp the concepts behind computer interfaces seems so strange to me. I wonder if a command line interface would make more sense. I know that sounds crazy, but using bash, for example, is more straightforward, in a way. You can list what folder you're in, execute commands without any images or windows or other distractions. Mainly, it's memorisation, as opposed to the more abstract concepts behind desktop interfaces. Sorry, I'm rambling now lol.
My mom is well into her 90s. She knows how to use her laptop, Libreoffice Writer, her printer, Thunderbird, and Firefox. Pretty much nothing else. She can stream her sports and navigate Facebook. She does not send email any more. Partially forgotten how and partially her contacts are no longer around. She is afraid to do business online so I help her with that, though she is fine researching and using search. Her big fear is making a mistake so she calls me when she needs help. That habit really helps in avoiding social engineering and malware.
She is a little afraid of her iPhone and Apple watch. She can make and receive calls. She can revcieve texts but does not send them. No interest I think. Recently to my surprise, she has gotten excited about the sleep monitoring app and uses that.
She is probably well ahead of her age group. Her mom was too. Back then her mom's friends thought that she was a wonder to be able to use a microwave.
I was thinking more about what you said. I think at least for my mom her approach is procedural. If she can write down a procedure she can do it... well and has a good reason to do it often. Problem with that, you do not learn UI paradigms on one hand and on the other she is afraid to just try something for fear of breaking something. She is also not good at figuring out what the graphical icons mean. Some of that is context but it is not her strength either. UIs are based on paradigms and on exploring, no documentation needed. The lack of documentation and procedures really bothers her. Exploration is too scary.
As far as CLI, I am not sure she would use a computer at all without a GUI though I think she could do it because she is good a procedures. She would have to have a good reason.
Also she also will not use a desktop computer... She had one for a time and only really started using a computer often after I got her a laptop. She's a very mobile person.