Computers magically crash around teenage boys. It's never anything they did, of course - everything they have done around the computer was very safe, no big deal, I don't think I even touched that computer today.
And you have to let them go with it, wrecking stuff as they go, because this is how they learn to be able to fix your computer later. If you don't endure pounding your head now, you might end up being completely cut off from the internet for days at a time when you are old.
LIving in a geek family, I think t's partly their games and what they download. Even if not porn, there are videos, and game patches, and their sneakily going to music and file sharing sites, no matter how much you tell them not to. "But Mom, I had to lower the firewall to get the DOUBLE SHIELD OF DOOM AND WARRIOR'SWORD and the expanded scene and the extra hit points....YOU should have reminded me to turn the security back on when I went back to surfing..."
ReplyDeleteWe have an honest local computer store that repairs things and they just say "Teen boys are computer killers, I wouldn't be so unethical as to sell you anything expensive for him...."
I would spring the extra for a Mac for the kid (more secure) but his VAST array of games wouldn't work and the Mac versions are either unavailable or more expensive.
You're right, tho, about how they learn from it how to fix computers. My kid can do pretty exotic stuff, and helps his dad when my husband's computer is on the fritz.
Sorry to go on so, but something that occupies much of our family's spare time....
My experience with computers as a youngster taught me that glitches from lack of maintenance or irreputable downloads are bad, but attempting to fix things on your own tended to lead to even worse results. Growing up with almost daily blue screens of death was tough but I'll never forget the day I saw "No operating system found"
ReplyDelete