14 Tech Things Parents Should Know

Bernie Goldbach in Cashel | Photo of our tech support specialist.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW how to do 14 specific technical tasks if they want to be held in high regard by their kids, so says the Sunday Times in Ireland.

I think it would be fair to ask the Irish Minister for Communications to demonstrate each of these skills on camera. Here is a short listing of the 14 tech skills, as published in a handy guide for technophobe parents today.

1. Know how to post a photo to Instagram.

2. Know how to transfer music from a computer to your phone.

3. Know how to back up your hard drive. I'd add "know how to back up your phone."

4. Know how to use a hashtag on Twitter.

5. Know how to make a photo album on Flickr. It's also important to know how to create a physical object from a Flickr set.

6. Know how to save something into the cloud.

7. Know how to edit a photograph online. And while you're at it, know how to do basic editing on a phone too.

8.  Know how to start a Tumblr blog.

9. Know how to protect your passwords. You should have a password manager close to hand.

10. Know how to improve your privacy settings on Facebook. I've made this an essential skillset in the social media module taught in the creative multimedia degree programme at the Limerick Institute of Technology.

11. Know how to use wireless speakers.

12. Know how to series link a TV show.

13. Know how to scan a QR Code.

14. Know how to make a short link.

---

The Sunday Times -- "Is your child more tech savvy than you?" in the Irish edition, February 24, 2013.