I had a look at my contacts and saw my mum was online. My mother has an interesting relationship with technology: drawn to it as a moth to a bulb, it seems to delight and frustrate her in equal measure. She told me that recently she’d been shocked when a mysterious gentleman had appeared, unannounced and genie-like, on her screen. When she inquired what business he had with her, he replied merely that he had found her name interesting.
The next thirty minutes or so were spent painstakingly guiding her progress toward the Skype privacy menu. After much gnashing of teeth, we found the option that would prevent subsequent apparitions. I exasperatedly advised my poor mother that she needn’t double click everything. She has a habit of double-clicking everything that I find quite infuriating. “How exactly do you know when to single click, when to double click?” she asked. I conceded that actually it is all quite fuzzy: an instinct that my generation have unwittingly developed. I should be more patient with my mother. Sorry, mum. x
