Instead of Being Your Family’s Tech Support, Be Their Teacher
Every year, I make sure to provide tech support for dozens of friends and family when I return home for the holidays. This year, I’ve already answered tough questions like “Where is my Bitmoji keyboard?” “Why do people listen to their phones in registries” and “Why does my computer do this?”
For the most part, the questions are never very difficult and I can fix them immediately, but there are many questions and it takes a lot of my time when I get home.
Earlier this week, CNET posted an article with suggestions for what you could do to avoid being tech support for your family during the holidays, such as shifting responsibility to someone younger, declaring that you cannot solve a problem, or simply say no. At first glance, I thought that leaving tech support sounded like a great idea, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really enjoy being everyone’s favorite tech guru.
While the question may actually be a bit trivial, the 5-10 minutes I spend fixing a problem with someone’s small phone or computer is actually good. People are usually infinitely grateful when you can solve this little problem that has plagued them for months, you look like a hero nerd and have a few minutes one-on-one with the person asking for your help. If you enter with a positive attitude (and the problem is small), it is actually a pleasant experience.
CNET has one proposal in its plan that I agree with and which I personally implemented many years ago: teach people. This is similar to the old adage about how to teach a person to fish: if you teach someone how to solve their problem on their own, then you set them up so that they will have fewer problems in the future.
For a friend of mine with a lost Bitmoji keyboard, I showed him how to enter the keyboard menu on his iPhone and then suggested a few other keyboards that he might find useful as well. His mind was shaken, his problem was solved, and I’m pretty sure he will never have to come to me with a keyboard problem again. Maybe he can even solve someone’s problem in the future.
Obviously, your mileage may vary. A friend of mine in his 30s is probably more likely to figure out his phone than an 80-year-old grandmother, but if you take the time teaching people it will feel less like a “job” and more like you are sharing knowledge. and customize them. ready for future success.