My app-savvy mom

Balaji W Sundar

This is a simple narration of my mother’s foray into the world of apps.
Many a time, we turn to technology for a solution, more by chance than by choice.

My mom—who I always thought of as tech-challenged—had one such experience recently. As she related what took place, she said she was horrified, petrified, and what not!

An avid member of a humour club, she normally calls up my sister to talk about what happened in the latest session. However, for the first time, she spoke more about what happened post the session than the events during it.

Since she was right next to me when she was on that call, I eavesdropped quite shamelessly.

Here is her story:

That day, her humour club session had ended somewhat earlier than expected—at 9:00 instead of 9:30 p.m. It was pretty dark outside. Added to this was the fact that the venue that week was an auditorium in the vast campus of an Adyar school; so vast, there is a high probability that one will get lost inside on a first visit.

It is my mom’s habit to leave a couple of minutes later than the others after a session in order to avoid the crowd. By the time she decided to leave, she was all alone and it took her some time—at least 15 to 20 minutes—to get out.

Normally, my dad would pick her up but, on that day, he was still stuck at work. She was considering getting home in an auto rickshaw when she recalled that she had Internet access on her phone. Some months ago, I had downloaded the Uber app on her phone and shown her how to book a cab. I would have bet she forgot about it almost immediately.

Tic-tac-toe

Now, out came her phone and she spent a fair amount of time figuring out the Uber icon on the phone and finally clicked on it. After a few hit-and-miss-attempts, she entered the drop location. (I remember synchronizing her phone to the GPS, so the pick-up location was taken care of.) By now, she was equally excited and afraid to have called a cab on Uber for the first time.

I really pity that Uber driver who tried to call her—at least five times—that evening, before she answered. You see, my mom hardly has a few contacts on her phone and, usually, does not pick up phone calls from unknown numbers.

When she saw the cab approaching, she suddenly started to get the jitters about having a stranger for a driver, but since that was the only way she could get home, she got into the car. She started to feel more secure when they reached the main road. She said she even started to feel like a queen when the driver asked her if she wanted him to turn on the music and the air conditioner.

Of course, “the queen” refused both.

Why?

The music may drown out her cries for help if she needed to call for it. And, with the AC on and the windows up, no one would hear her anyway, she said.

The rest of the ride was uneventful and she reached home safe and in one piece. It was not a very long ride but for her, it was definitely something unforgettable. She felt a sense of accomplishment and pride.

That was the first of several Uber rides for her. She’s quite the pro now and says it is the initial sense of “that’s too complicated”, “I won’t be able to do it”, and “I am not tech-savvy” that kept her from trying the app. Necessity forced her to use it and she discovered how easy and convenient it actually is.

After all, she is my first teacher and can probably do everything I can as well, if not better than I can.

The learning

Many older, not-born-in-the-internet people, especially women who are stay-at-home homemakers, become dependent on others to get from place to place or buy even something simple online. They need not be. It is not rocket science. All they need is someone (nice, like me) to take them once or twice through the process and encourage them to try it. That is really all it takes and the beginning of learning how much is actually out there to discover with other apps too.

So, here is a big shout-out to all those who are hesitant about trying a mobile app. You can do it.

Balaji, is our in-house linguaphile. Besides Tamil and English, Balaji is fluent in French. He is now on his way to acquiring fluency in German. He has a B.E. degree in electronics and communication and a Master’s in industrial Marketing.