Ever since I heard about the phrase online shopping, I think I’ve turned into a shopaholic.
Do you know what makes it worse? When you get your first debit/credit card and suddenly your life turns into the movie ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’.
As long as I don’t see the damage it’s doing to my bank account, everything is affordable. Somehow, my parents never understood this phenomenon. Baby boomers, they love to physically see it and feel it before they pay for it. I can’t relate!
But I’ve always wondered, why are some adults so against going online?
When Will My Package Arrive?
I’ve asked my mum a couple of times why doesn’t she just buy it online?
The response I got varied from ‘what if it’s not the same as the picture’ to ‘what if I’m getting scammed?’.
Just like most parents, my mum is always staying updated on the news. This often means reading about people getting scammed online. It made me quickly realise that a lot of adults could have the same fear.
Unlike us Millennials, they did not grow up in a world where going online is the norm. It is quite understandable why there could be a fear surrounding the nature of the online world.
These thoughts and fears do not just come out of thin air — it’s completely valid. The internet can be a dark place, and there really are scammers everywhere!
What we do need to do though, is to learn how to protect ourselves from scammers. With the introduction of several safety measures and guidelines, honestly, it’s pretty easy to help our parents get around it as well!
Going Virtual Due to The Pandemic
I can’t even begin to imagine how our parents feel like in the current situation. With most of the stores closed, a majority of us have opted to go online!
Imagine your whole life, you’re so used to seeing things and trying them out before buying them but just like that, everything is online and you have no idea how that works at all.
Sounds like a scary territory to be in, honestly!
However, that’s how the world works now. Maybe this is the perfect time to adapt to some new changes and help our parents in going online as well?
Yes, it can be scary and risky for them. And maybe for us as well!
The Guide: How To Help Your Parents?
When I say parents, there can be three categories: The ones on social media, the ones not on social media and the ones who do not believe in having a smartphone!
If your parents have a device that connects them to social media, you’re lucky because that makes things so much easier. The easiest way to do this is by downloading those apps that you just can’t resist shopping from!
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the Shopee app; it sends you notifications every opportunity it gets.
I mean, all apps send notifications, but this one just sticks out, am I right? If you download such apps on their phones and show them the way around it, it really won’t take long before they’re hooked on it like us.
Just make sure they’re doing everything securely; otherwise, the scammers will have a field trip on your parent’s money!
However, if they do not have social media, you’ll really need to start from scratch.
You can start small, show them things they like on the internet. Associate little things to the smartphone— games and videos are a great way to curate an interest. You know, just like it works with kids!
You could also introduce them to Facebook groups that do reviews and ask questions about products. This is a great way to figure out what to get — by seeing it being tried by other people.
And what do you do if your parents are completely against smartphones? Oh, I’ve been there.
My mum rejected having one for the longest time. I had to convince her that it is a complete necessity so that we can stay in touch. Next thing you know, she’s completely hooked on it!
I only convinced my mum to get a smartphone so I can video call her since we’re in two different time zones. It turns out, now she’s too busy buying things online to make time for a call. So maybe you can try this tactic to get them started out as well!
Introduction of online shopping has definitely made life easier for a lot of us younger people.
However, most of our parents are still very unfamiliar with this concept. Getting our parents to go online could be one of the best things you can do for them; since everything from groceries to clothes are bought online now.
With the development of technology, especially during this pandemic, navigating through life would be much easier for our parents if they’re also on the interwebs!
