PC savvy and smug

No more than a month ago, my parents bought our family a new computer.
Of course, being a computer junkie, I was ecstatic. Even my parents (after several weeks of harping on the fact the total cost of it came out to a four-digit number) began to show an interest in the mysterious black box.
But as time went on, I soon realized how many adults, not just my parents, are computer illiterate.
My dad, in attempts to burn a CD, created a beverage coaster; my mom refuses to grant me permission to be in the room while she is on the computer so I won't hear her swearing.
I then knew this flaw in modern adulthood would be of some interest to me.
Without hesitation I brought a neighbor of mine up to explore the new device.
Slide show: She marveled at a slide show I made with the digital camera and asked if she could make one with her family's vacation pictures from last summer. I told her that I would love to teach her how to do it. She replied that she would bring in the roll of film next week.
Did I mention that I love the blank "forwards" I receive daily from my relatives?
This ignorance may be a result of fear. Watching the news, viewers are informed of recent Internet scams. Horror stories of children being lured into being victims of sex crimes and kidnappings are understandably a parent's worst nightmare.
The hourly Video Professor ads make it look like one can how to operate a PC only with the scholarly lessons of a college professor.
Books, in an attempt to help one to learn basic computer knowledge, are a minimum of 800 pages long.
All of these factors not only make the computer world look tedious but also extremely dangerous. Come to think of it, why would they want to ever spend a grand on a computer?
Time factor: The classic excuse is "I don't have time," and I understand that computers do take time. But I still think that it's legit to say the benefits of the modern technology available in a computer overshadow an hour a day of Must-See TV.
It's sad in a way, because there is a whole amazing new world and means of communication developing through phone lines and hard drives that many adults just simply choose to ignore. Their fears are just tainted with premature assumptions that can be changed only through experience, convincing and knowledge.
Generation gap: Perhaps I have no right to speak my mind, because there is no way for me to relate. I grew up (along with the rest of my generation) with the device and learned at the age of 8 what those at the age of 58 are too intimidated to learn.
The computer niche teens have found is indeed something to be proud of. It's truly a thought we can revel in as we are scorned for our bubble gum music and purple hair.
XAnnie Frank, a junior at Boardman High School, is a member of the Spanish and Key clubs, the girls golf team and the high school newspaper staff.