I hate Zoom, Insta, Zencastr. I hate how I am now expected to know tech instantly

[MareofBeasttown]

As a result of the pandemic, my work has become all about Zoom calls, Insta videos and Zencastr podcasts. I am not a naturally techie person and am just so sick of staring into a tiny screen trying to get a feel of the room. I also deal with people across the world so the internet quality is variable. Today an Insta video I am in charge of has just collapsed, and I have no idea why. I just want my job to go back to meeting real people in real life, not all this tech fuckery!

Oh, you are all fabulous at tech:(

I know fuck all about tech!

I'd prefer to have to deal with the techie issues that Zoom calls and other meeting options have, than face a tube or train journey not being certain if everyone on there has not got the virus, or indeed by being on there reducing space for others.

I'm grateful of help that is offered and given from time to time by a colleague.

I also have to take the Tube sometimes.🙁 DS is my tech support but the patience of a teenager wears thin very quickly

I agree OP it is so stressful. Have started 2 new jobs during the pandemic, just little things become a big stress because there is no colleague to lean over your shoulder and say 'click here'.

I haven't heard of one of those and have never used another. I am mediocre at Zoom.

I'm not especially brilliant and definitely don't keep up with the pace of stuff being rolled out (very much not an early adopter) but what helps me is playing with any new software etc without worrying about breaking anything. I mean, I can't remember ever managing to do anything that did more than perhaps temporarily crashing a program - it's pretty difficult to actually break them in an irrecoverable way.

First time I get access to something new I open it, click on everything I can to see what it does and if I like it or not, just generally experiment and test it all out. That usually sets me up enough to make it appear to others like I have some kind of actual skill!

I remember with my mum her main obstacle with tech was that she was worried about breaking it so didn't want to click on anything unless she definitely knew what it did or had been told, didn't feel able to explore or test stuff, panicked if a message came up on screen (even if it was harmless). She was perfectly capable though.

Letting go of the fear of breaking it makes it all so much more manageable. If a call crashes, it crashes. That happens even if you're a pro. Same way in real life sometimes there's an unexpected fire drill or powercut in a meeting - stuff happens! People get over it.

Although nothing I deal with is life or death so I suppose that makes it easier to be more relaxed!