History Main / TechnologicallyBlindElders

* Patriarch Rick Mitchell from ''WesternAnimation/TheMitchellsVsTheMachines'' is very much hopeless with anything that is beyond a simple video camera. Simply subscribing to his daughter Katie's Website/YouTube channel resulted in him hitting the computer in a hysteric panic and made him go to the CornerOfWoe until he figured it out, and he later ended up sending her a friend request ''by mail'' with ''no other information'' asking if she wanted to be his friend. She doesn't miss the UnfortunateImplications of this.

* Goodtime Valley in ''VideoGame/HypnospaceOutlaw''. The zone for older [[TheAlternet Hypnospace]] users, its pages are rife with bugs, grammatical errors, poorly applied templates, occasional viruses, and tackiness above and beyond the Website/GeoCities-influenced aesthetic of Hypnospace in general. Averted by one user, Connie Turner, an older computer security professional whose site is clean and well-presented, and who [[spoiler:breaks into the website of hacker group [=M1nx=] when they fail to hide their tracks properly.]]

* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'': Although not actually an elder (he's only 35), a RunningGag is that Earl Hickey is not very adept with technology. He thinks the fish screensaver on a computer is really an aquarium ''twice'', and gets very confused when he jiggles the mouse and the screensaver goes away. He is also dumbfounded that there are books on tape (thinking they're printed on literal adhesive tape), books on CD, and even Platform/MP3-format audiobooks for an iPod. (He also doesn't know what that is.) May be justified on the grounds that Earl lives in a town filled with destitution, and poor people often cannot afford to purchase new technology as it comes out.

* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'': Although not actually an elder (he's only 35), a RunningGag is that Earl Hickey is not very adept with technology. He thinks the fish screensaver on a computer is really an aquarium ''twice'', and gets very confused when he jiggles the mouse and the screensaver goes away. He is also dumbfounded that there are books on tape (thinking they're printed on literal adhesive tape), books on CD, and even UsefulNotes/MP3-format audiobooks for an iPod. (He also doesn't know what that is.) May be justified on the grounds that Earl lives in a town filled with destitution, and poor people often cannot afford to purchase new technology as it comes out.

* ''VideoGame/TyTheTasmanianTiger'' has an NPC in the third game who mentions "Empty Trees" (UsefulNotes/MP3's) as part of a "kids these days" speech.

* This trope is OlderThanRadio. The invention of the electromagnetic telegraph, and thus the birth of modern telecommunications, in the mid 19th century brought about a massive cultural shakeup. This was the first time in human history a message could be conveyed in real time beyond direct line of sight. The book ''The Victorian Internet'' (which is sadly not a genre mashup of SteamPunk and CyberPunk) relates a number of anecdotes of folks utterly confused about how the newfangled technology functioned. Such as:
** A mother at home who wanted to send some soup to her son serving on the front lines via telegraph.
** Someone explaining to their child that the telegrams flowed through the wire like a liquid. Though see [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_analogy The Hydraulic Analogy]] on that other wiki.
** A woman insisting she rewrite the note she wanted relayed via telegraph because she didn't want the recipient to suffer her poor handwriting.

* A recurring gag in the ''Videogame/LikeADragon'' series is that protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, who's in his 40s and 50s for most of the series, generally has a poor grasp on technology. One Substory in ''Videogame/Yakuza5'' has him asked to fix a computer and his options include either [[PercussiveMaintenance hitting it]] or yelling at it. The sixth game even shows that he types via finger pecking. He does at least update to using a Smartphone for the later games (primarily for the sake of ProductPlacement) and one substory in 6 has him developing a friendship with a Siri parody.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheDeep'': As wise as he is, Nereus is completely lost when it comes to operating modern technology.

* ''Manhwa/TheBreaker'': New Waves is told about an app that he could use to find Shioon and Jini, so he has to ask a mook what an "app" is.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', this is a major issue for Elders, who have difficulty wrapping their heads around modern technology, which makes it the one way that the newly embraced can get an advantage over the StrongerWithAge Elders.
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* ''Anime/DenNohCoil': Inverted with Mega-Baa, Yasako's grandmother and the CoolOldLady who runs the local candy shop. She's well versed in the high tech glasses the kids wear, can hack the setting's version of the internet, and in general is one of the most tech-savvy characters around.

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': The most advanced piece of technology that Kusuri's grandmother Yaku can manage is a TinCanTelephone.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': Castle tells Alexis that he's going to set a new content filter on their computer to limit her exposure to tabloid information. An amused Alexis reminds him that he had to ask for her help to set up the content filter level they already have.

* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', this is a major issue for Elders, who just can't wrapt their heads around modern technology, which makes it the one way that the newly embraced can get an advantage over the StrongerWithAge Elders. It's also caused some issues in their society: the growing abundance of social media and cameras everywhere has made maintaining the Masquerade harder than ever, and Elders just can't understand ''why'', so they've tried to ban all Kindred from using the internet ever. They also can't grasp why that's a ''bigger'' red flag in the modern world.

* ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan'', ComicBook/CaptainAmerica ([[FishOutOfTemporalWater who grew up in the 1930s and 40s]]) struggles to find the app he needs on his smartphone. Luckily, Miles is there to help him out.

* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', this is one of the advantages of a fledgling Embraced in modern times over the Elders from older times.

-->'''Gibbs:''' [[=McGee=], less talk, more of the computer chip doo-da.

* It's a RunningGag in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' that Gibbs doesn't know what the digital things are and how they work. It depends on the episode whether it's for real or just a case of ObfuscatingStupidity. Worth mentioning that Gibbs still uses a old flip phone.

[[caption-width-right:350:Well at least he can't [[Advertising/DontCopyThatFloppy copy that floppy]].]]