“I bought this Internet but when I plugged it into my computer I still couldn't download it.” A middle-aged woman placed a wireless router, an Ethernet cable, and her laptop on the counter in front of me. “Well…” I wasn't sure where to start without rudely correcting her. I just had to make sure that I was really in the position I thought I was “So you had it set up like this?” I connected the router and the computer with the Ethernet cable and plugged the router into an outlet. “Yeah, just like that!” she exclaimed, “Why wouldn't it work?”

I proceeded to explain how all that the router does is broadcast an Internet connection that you get from a wired connection running into your home. After much convincing that buying a wireless router does not mean that you circumvent the need to pay for Internet service, she left frustrated and convinced that any company relating to electronics or digital information was deceitful and far too complicated. I was disappointed that I couldn't find a way to help her, but it made me think about how many people see the rapidly expanding world of technology as something that is confusing, foreign, and filled with terminology that might as well be another language.

I see so many people who really don't know much about the systems that shape a majority of what goes on around them. Shouldn't people know more about these things? When it is so widespread and essential throughout the entire world, wouldn't it make sense to have a class in school that teaches people the basics? I think that anybody can say that it would be more useful to know how to use a computer on a basic level than to learn about how to prove trigonometric identities or to memorize when George Washington was born. By no means am I saying that these things aren’t important, but I think that it is far more likely for someone to be thankful for computer knowledge. Sure, you gain valuable skills learning other things, but the same thing is true about a computer class.

What I'm trying to say is that I think that society is held back by a general lack of experience with modern information systems. Through my work I have realized how much time people spend trying to fix problems that if they knew how things worked, they could save themselves considerable time, energy, and in many cases; money. Even if people new what the things were called then it would eliminate communication errors that are bound to happen when people refer to anything that transfers data as the internet, and calling any part within their computer the hard drive.

No matter how much you know about other areas, skills or professions, being handy with computers can only help. I know that there are some who it isn’t essential to, but I think that a majority of people would benefit greatly by knowing just a little more about the technology that they use every day.