In a growing age of technology, it is becoming more and more difficult every day to keep up with new forms of software and devices that seem to change everything about the previous generation as they approach the next.

Updates, new models, new devices and more are making the average consumer feel confused and if you’re like everyone else, often quite dumb when you cannot figure out for the life of you how to do the simplest of tasks.

Well, rest assured you are not alone. If you can’t figure out how to work the latest model of your phone, then you can absolutely expect that there are millions (literally) of others dealing with the same problem.

Why is it that technology is becoming so complex? Do you find yourself often wondering whether it is simply you who is growing old?

Again, this is something that people wrestle with every day all over the world as they ask their 6-year-old child to explain to them how to do the simplest thing on a computer. Don’t worry. Everyone over the age of 20 knows the feeling.

Here are a few things you can pick up on to develop your tech understanding and make sure you are fully informed next time you want to do anything on your devices without the help of a child.

How to Back-Up Your Data

Backing up your data is something everyone needs to learn and learn fast. Have you ever found yourself in the situation where you’ve worked for days on a document, only to have it turn up lost, because your computer crashed or one of any number of other tech catastrophes has occurred?

Every person to ever use a device knows the feeling. It is crippling when you realise that your data is lost forever, with no way to recover those important documents. Whether it is for personal use, school use, or work use; it is always something that feels like the end of the world.

Find out your model number and brand of whatever device it is you need to back up and do a quick Google search on how to back it up. You’ll find results in the blink of an eye and be ready to head into some serious tech surfing in no time!

The Internet

Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you know enough about the internet to do a basic web search, but many people are unaware of the true potential and dangers of the internet.

Something to be aware of straight off the bat is the oldest internet saying in the book; If it is posted, it’s never getting deleted. Bear this in mind while doing literally anything on your computer. From a simple Google-search to sending a saucy picture to your better-half, everything is saved and stored somewhere.

Think before you upload. Always.

Microsoft Excel

You may never have thought it, but Microsoft Excel is something every computer user should know the basics of. Why? You may ask; because the usage is close to endless.

You can do thousands, possibly millions of things using excel, from as simple a task as creating a functioning calculator, to making a video game within the application.

Learning to use this tool in ways that can benefit your life is something everyone should know, because WHEN you eventually need to use it, having the basic knowledge already down-pat is going to be a major time-saver.

Ensuring Your Operating System and Anti-Virus Are Up to Date and Running.

Would you say that your home security is extremely important? You don’t want random people accessing your house and taking things that don’t belong to them or going through your private belongings and snooping about.

This is the EXACT same premise for computers and mobile devices. How would you like to have someone snooping through your personal files, photos, contacts, etc.?

It’s likely a plausible assumption that you would not like that at all. If this is the case, you NEED to make sure your antivirus software is both up to date and running properly.

Once again, a quick search on Google will provide you with everything you need to know about your operating system.

Keeping up to date with things on your devices can easily become a colossal pain in the butt. There are a million different things to learn, but only a few that are truly necessary to use nearly any device.

Try to ensure you have the sense enough to differ between the important and unimportant information, as you’ll find that stressing yourself over how much there is to learn will simply leave your head spinning and get you nowhere.

Hopefully you’ve got some idea as to what you need to find out from this article and will be on your way to teaching the children about technology instead of the other way around in no time!