To wonder why people can't just look simple things up?

[CornflakeMum]

We live in an age when it's never been easier to find out information - by googling or asking Siri/ Alexa etc.

Yet it seems our local area Facebook groups and all my WhatsApp groups are full of questions which people could have easily (and probably more quickly) answered for themselves, rather than clogging up social media feeds.

Just today I've seen:

• Is there a post office in the town?
• Do M&S sell cloth face masks?
• Anyone know what time B&Q opens?
• Does the bus stop on XYZ road?

and in my Book Group WhatsApp

• What's the date of the next meeting? - by someone who posted that 'the next meeting is xth Sept' herself about a month ago, with the book we'd chosen!

Is it laziness or stupidity or what? Why can't they just search for themselves?
AIBU??

I expect laziness above all else.

I am reminded of when my cousin worked on cruise ships and would be asked 'what time is the midnight buffet'?

My head cannot comprehend that there are people who do not think using facebook is using the internet. I do not believe it.

I do not believe it.

You can believe it or not believe it. It is however well-documented, not just some shit I made up qz.com/333313/milliions-of-facebook-users-have-no-idea-theyre-using-the-internet/

This is the bloody issue though. 'I can't get my head around it so I'll say it's wrong' replaces actually examining the evidence.

I get the local Facebook virtue signallers. For instance “I want to donate £100 to the local dogs home. Does any one have the contact number for the dogs home ? So I can donate £100 ?”

🤣 this is probably why my dcs say 'Facebook is for boomers'. A lot of the younger generation are turned off Facebook, now that everyone's mum and nan has got a phone and just about worked out how to use it. It's like when older people get taken in by fake news and memes on fb. They read it, so it's true. Not realising anyone can make these memes. The kids are more tech and internet savvy, they've grown up with it and could probably make one of those memes in a couple of minutes.

DD says that Facebook is for old people

I get the local Facebook virtue signallers. For instance “I want to donate £100 to the local dogs home. Does any one have the contact number for the dogs home ? So I can donate £100 ?”

And once they've done that, they're straight on to MN:

"I was walking in town yesterday, when I saw an old lady trip over a very uneven paving slab and fall to the ground, crying in pain and with her leg gushing blood. I used my brand new Laura Ashley scarf (it was a gift for my birthday last week) to staunch the blood flow, sat with her, trying to keep her calm and comfortable and used my mobile to call an ambulance for her. I waited until I was certain she was in the capable hands of medical professionals; thankfully, the ambulance was there in 8 minutes, but I was fully prepared to wait with her all night if it had been necessary. Was I being unreasonable and interfering by dictating my own idea of how to best handle the situation instead of treating her like a responsible adult and leaving her to find her own preferred solution?"

Or the ‘I know it’s been asked before ... but’
Then hit the search button!!

Or which Optitians best x or y?

Most people only go to one or the other! How would they know who’s best?

I find people that do this so incredibly frustrating, particularly when people post in AIBU "for traffic" with recommendation requests. Why would it even occur to you to post on here for that information?

I asked someone recently on here why they had posted on MN rather than googling for things to do in and around a popular city, and was told it had occurred to them but they wanted responses from real people who had been there. I didn't realise that the many curated lists and reviews online were all made by aliens and robots.

I asked someone recently on here why they had posted on MN rather than googling for things to do in and around a popular city, and was told it had occurred to them but they wanted responses from real people who had been there. I didn't realise that the many curated lists and reviews online were all made by aliens and robots.

I don't think this is too much of a crime given that mumsnet is generally fairly middle class. Look online and you might end up being recommended a nice stay in Pontins!

@ForrestTrump

I asked someone recently on here why they had posted on MN rather than googling for things to do in and around a popular city, and was told it had occurred to them but they wanted responses from real people who had been there. I didn't realise that the many curated lists and reviews online were all made by aliens and robots.

I don't think this is too much of a crime given that mumsnet is generally fairly middle class. Look online and you might end up being recommended a nice stay in Pontins!

Yes but searching 'things to do in and around Bath' tends to generate, well, many things to do in and around Bath. In this particular case they were going just the two of them so even less reason to ask a forum that would predominately holiday with their children where is good to visit, unless of course they wanted to go to places geared toward children and families as a couple..

The vaster Internet would give more responses then the 10 or so nice people that would bother to respond.

I’d come here to ask for things to do in a certain city. You are more likely to get something realistic or something that is less well known.

Some people are genuinely lonely and enjoy the conversation!

@ClutterbuckFarm

I get the local Facebook virtue signallers. For instance “I want to donate £100 to the local dogs home. Does any one have the contact number for the dogs home ? So I can donate £100 ?”

You can have fun with that one though:

Forget dogs, donate to the local food bank
Forget dogs, here's the number for Cats Protection
£100? That won't go far. You should add at least one zero to that.

It's like when older people get taken in by fake news and memes on fb.

It's hilarious that you don't think young people get taken in by fake news on the internet!

I'm on a university Facebook page, and there are loads of questions about moving into halls right now. Nearly all the answers are on the university websites, and people who know how to use google just post the links with the answers on them.

You can have fun with that one though:

Forget dogs, donate to the local food bank
Forget dogs, here's the number for Cats Protection
£100? That won't go far. You should add at least one zero to that.

"What?!?! Why would you even think about donating money?!?! The clue is in their name - they want DOGS; donate DOGS, not money!!!!"

There is something to posting a question on a forum, rather than google.

For example, if you use the look up function on Royal mail, they also offer a look up for post office boxes!

Also, in my area, there are a lot of bus diversions - could be the person wants to know that. To add, I remember the bus map route website in my area taking FOREVER to load, so it was pretty tricky to look up. Google maps offers a feature to say where bus stops are but don't tell you the frequency. You could just post your question and find out a lot more than just the specific answer

Someone here posted "how do I delete my search history from google" when in fact, what she wanted to do was use incognito mode.

Sometimes asking a general question, someone can read into what you actually want and answer a different question.

To be honesty, Facebook is on the internet, but it's like it's own hub. I can understand why the previous survey they say they do not use the internet.

It's like if the local library has a coffee shop just as you enter and that's all you use. You would say, no I don't use the library, but I go to the coffee shop...