{"id":24727,"date":"2022-12-20T13:53:25","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T13:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/20\/how-to-survive-being-the-tech-person-at-family-gatherings\/"},"modified":"2022-12-20T13:53:25","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T13:53:25","slug":"how-to-survive-being-the-tech-person-at-family-gatherings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/20\/how-to-survive-being-the-tech-person-at-family-gatherings\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Survive Being the \u201cTech Person\u201d at Family Gatherings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Roman Samborskyi\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019ve all been there: you arrive at your parent\u2019s place for the holidays and then just as you\u2019re trying to get the kinks out from a long flight, you hear, \u201cBy the way, my PC\u2019s acting up.\u201d Let\u2019s find out how to handle those requests in a way that leaves everyone happy!<\/p>\n

Set Some Boundaries<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to be clear and direct with your family about your boundaries. Let them know that you are willing to help with technology issues, but that you also have other responsibilities and commitments that you need to prioritize.<\/p>\n

You can set limits on the amount of time you are available to help with technology issues<\/a>. For example, you could offer to help for a set amount of time each day or each visit. If you can\u2019t get the fix done in that time frame, it will have to wait.<\/p>\n

Make It a Teachable Moment<\/h2>\n

The worst part of being stuck as the family tech support is that they all go off to eat turkey, drink egg nog, or gripe around the Festivus pole while you\u2019re stuck in a stuffy study expunging the nastiest malware known to man or beast.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to do it, make sure you don\u2019t do it alone! Insist you\u2019ll help if the person in question sits with you throughout the entire process, while you explain exactly what you\u2019re doing and why.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The Complete Guide to Giving Better Family Tech Support<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, most troubleshooting<\/a> these days involves Googling your problem on a smartphone and following a set of instructions, so if you can at least teach someone how to do that, you\u2019re more than halfway there. May we humbly suggest bookmarking<\/a> this very website on your family member\u2019s browser? They\u2019re in good hands with us, you deserve a break.<\/p>\n

Quid Pro Quo<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no such thing as a free lunch. If you\u2019re the \u201ctech\u201d person in the family, then the other members must have their own skill sets, right? How about some help with filing your taxes from your accountant aunt? Your dad\u2019s a mechanic, right? A free oil change is definitely worth helping him change his Android font<\/a> back to something legible.<\/p>\n

Give Tech Support Vouchers as Gifts<\/h2>\n

If your technology skills are being requested during a holiday or observance that involves giving gifts, then you might as well make some of your actual gifts the tech support you were going to provide anyway.<\/p>\n

You can either print out your own tech support vouchers or spend real money on buying technical support for someone who needs it. For example, Best Buy has the Totaltech<\/a> plan at $199.99 a year. A service that provides tech support for any device in someone\u2019s house, no matter where they bought it.<\/p>\n

Another angle on this idea is to just buy everyone Dummies guides<\/a> or something similar. It\u2019s how a lot of us got started in the tech-guru business after all.<\/p>\n

Defer Helping Until Later<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not that you don\u2019t\u00a0want<\/em> to help; it\u2019s just that this is a holiday. You should be relaxing and preparing for another year of fixing your own tech problems. So why not promise to defer your help until after everyone is back on the clock?<\/p>\n

These days we have Skype, Zoom, and many other ways to keep in touch and help people out remotely. So make a date for any issues that aren\u2019t mission-critical, but can\u2019t also be sorted out in 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

Be Honest If You Don\u2019t Know<\/h2>\n

At the risk of ruining your reputation as an omniscient tech messiah among friends and family,\u00a0 just say you don\u2019t know how to fix a particular problem. No one can reasonably expect one person to know how to fix every tech problem (well, maybe our editors do sometimes, but we digress), so there\u2019s no shame in pleading ignorance. If it\u2019s going to be something that you have to research at length and spend hours troubleshooting, just let the person understand that just because you know a lot about laptops, doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re a wizard with smart speakers<\/a> or Apple TVs!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n