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I was brought up to use sir or ma'am as a respectful way to address adults. I use them now when trying to get the attention of someone I do not know, young or old.
Yes, millennials seem amazed that OLD people can use computers! The fact that some of have been using them longer than they have been alive escapes them!
I was getting that 20 years ago. Owned a technology company (I'm female) and whenever I went into CompUSA (remember them), the sales reps would look at me like I needed so much help. If I happened to have one of my employees with me, they would always laugh when the sales rep walked away. I was setting up networks and the sales reps thought I needed help with basic stuff. I was in my 40's then.
I was getting that 20 years ago. Owned a technology company (I'm female) and whenever I went into CompUSA (remember them), the sales reps would look at me like I needed so much help. If I happened to have one of my employees with me, they would always laugh when the sales rep walked away. I was setting up networks and the sales reps thought I needed help with basic stuff. I was in my 40's then.
It's all relative! first got the "Sir" treatment when I was in my 40's. Was called an "older man" by my 20 year old employees then too!
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Last edited by volosong; 06-13-2017 at 08:16 AM..
Reason: general thread cleanup
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 8 days ago)
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pdxex, it seems like you might look older than you are. At 64, I would still think the public would expect you not to know how to use a smart phone, and certainly in your 40's your employees wouldn't call you an "older man" - unless they meant "older than they were" -which in fact you were. By twice the years.
Yes, millennials seem amazed that OLD people can use computers! The fact that some of have been using them longer than they have been alive escapes them!
Not only can we use computers, we invented some of the things Millennials take for granted. Like the Internet. And the Web. And the underlying mechanism (mail transport agent) that gets email from one place to another (sendmail, written by Eric Allman, age 61).
I was getting that 20 years ago. Owned a technology company (I'm female) and whenever I went into CompUSA (remember them), the sales reps would look at me like I needed so much help. If I happened to have one of my employees with me, they would always laugh when the sales rep walked away. I was setting up networks and the sales reps thought I needed help with basic stuff. I was in my 40's then.
That was about the time I was getting that at trade shows like USENIX, where people really should have known better. Women were not unheard of in tech even then.
The Sir and Ma'am thing amuses me. Where I live, in NC, everyone over the age of about 25 is either Sir or Ma'am. It is just a respectful way of speaking, especially when you don't know the person's actual name. Children call me "Miss" Luv (first name).
Yes, I got the Sir/Ma'am drilled into me at the age of 8 when we moved to Florida from Central NY State. My new teacher asked me a question and I gave the correct answer of Yes. She sternly looked at me and said "Yes, What"? I had no idea of what she wanted and just said Yes again. She said "The answer is Yes Ma'am"!! That stuck with me for the rest of my life, even when I was admonished for using Ma'am at work.
However here in Tennessee, it works just fine. We get addressed as Ma'am/Sir all the time and the kids across the street address me as Mr Steve when they see me out walking. Doesn't bother me in the least.
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