Culture Gen Z struggling to use “old” office equipment like copy machines, printers, and scanners

From ancient printers to stubborn scanners, office machines are giving gen Z serious tech shame

Scanners, printers and photocopying machines are confusing the touch-screen generation, as they come face to face with archaic offices.

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Gen Zers like myself are finally entering the workforce. And while we’ve all quickly adapted to the office’s specific brand of oat milk, and the best bike route, what our generation of chronically-online, social media-savvy employees weren’t accounting for, is all of the ghastly and archaic technology left over from the 90s and early 00s.

I’m of course talking about machines like the daunting and imposing photocopier, or the printer that sits neglected, making whirring noises as though it’s threatening to explode every time someone reaches for the ‘on’ button.

Moving away from the safety and comfort of a Google Docs link or an AirDrop is a genuinely scary step to take when approaching your new office job. And apparently, this is a genuine symptom of a generation that has been praised as ‘tech-savvy’ and ‘digitally native’ their whole lives. Sure, content creators like Corporate Natalie help the transition, but it’s not always a smooth ride.


Garrett Bemiller, a 25-year-old New Yorker who works as a publicist, told The Guardian that “things like scanners and copy machines are complicated,” and shared that the first time he had to copy something in the office, he found himself having to reattempt several times. Luckily, veteran office workers quickly came to his aid.

Sarah Dexter, associate professor of education at the University of Virginia, told the publication that “there is a myth that kids were born into an information age, and that this all comes intuitively to them.” In reality, we’re not the all-knowing tech gods that so many millennials and gen Xers expect us to be—we still need to be taught how to use things.

The main difference is that we were brought up in an age of extreme user-friendly tech. There is a certain degree of intuitiveness that comes from being so familiar with the internet and apps, but this doesn’t always translate to a long stagnant office culture dynamic—one that seems to so often be living in the past.

Desktop computing is far less instinctive than the mobile, social world that gen Zers roam. It’s true that loud office computers and dense file systems are daunting for the information age.

This one is somewhat embarrassing, but a lot of us don’t seem to understand buttons either. You can’t swipe this computer screen open, as one Reddit user had to make evidently clear with the implementation of a sticker to point out the ‘on’ switch on-screen:

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The struggle to adapt to the office environment was given a name by tech giant HP in a survey from November 2022. Dubbed ‘Tech Shame’ by the company, the research found that young people were far more likely to experience embarrassment over tech illiteracy or even a dodgy Wi-Fi connection than their more mature peers.

Debbie Irish, HP’s head of human resources in the UK and Ireland told WorkLife that the amount of shame younger colleagues experience may be a result of things like a lack of disposable income to afford better hardware and internet, versus older more seasoned employees, who are more likely to have higher wages. This divide between the old and the new may be why quiet quitting was such a prevalent trend in 2022.

Hybrid working is part of the problem, and needless to say, our time out of the office as a result of the global pandemic (remember that?) have made office tech seem even more alien to us.

Accessibility is taken for granted today thanks to the apps we find ourselves trapped in. Max Simon, corporate life content creator, told The Guardian that “it takes five seconds to learn how to use TikTok, you don’t need an instruction book, like you would with a printer.”

There is a clear divide between our paperless tech literacy and the physical machines we may encounter in our office jobs. We’ve been made shy because of the emphasis that is placed on us as tech-savvy, when in reality, we just know how to use google to solve our problems. It won’t be long before AI has us all out of the door anyway.

 

[Grub]

The best part is not only are zoomers too retarded to operate simple devices capable of being operated by even non tech savvy people only 20 years ago but they're also too retarded to just take out their phone and use a fucking search engine and type 'how to use a printer/fax machine/computer monitor'

 

[Jimjamflimflam]

People who don't have office equipment at home.....have to learn how to use office equipment for their new job.

 

[mlanguishi]

I can't find the scene online, but this is straight out of the movie I, Robot with Will Smith when the girl can't turn on electronics because it isn't voice commanded.

 

[Jason Wynn]

Just like boomer parents turned millennials into the whiny, easily offended participation trophy generation, millennial parents just parked their kids in front of a tablet instead of actually raising them, and then wonder why zoomers are retards.

 

[Larry Potterfield]

I'm honestly not surprised. There were kids in high school that would unironically argue that we didn't need computers because "phones do everything." I completely blame their kind for ruining websites with that mobile friendly shit.

 

[Kel1 shi1]

There seems to be a sweet spot for people being able to work office equipment or office suite programs, otherwise you are too old or too young.

 

[Seventh Star]

There seems to be a sweet spot for people being able to work office equipment or office suite programs, otherwise you are too old or too young.

Do I get my dick sucked for being semi-competent at these things?

 

[Candlelight Desolation]

23yo Zoomer here. I have a printer which doubles as a scanner. Both are incredibly easy, and at the same time I am not surprised that these Zoomers the article talks about are this much like baboons when it comes to tech literacy, even simple things that anyone could figure out. I suppose this is what happens when you rely on smart devices for everything and don't want to take five minutes (or even less) to figure something out. If A doesn't work, try B. If B doesn't work, try C and so on.

I didn't even own a smart device until I was in my 20's out of necessity, and my dad and grandpa had to show me how to use it, interestingly enough. However, I've used desktop computers my whole life. Maybe there is a correlation with me being able to use devices like printers and the like.

 

[Professor G. Raff]

The trait that makes me have no respect for people is the inability to learn. I can give you that maybe they can't instinctively use older technology, but 10 minutes or less should be enough to learn this shit.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

I can't find the scene online, but this is straight out of the movie I, Robot with Will Smith when the girl can't turn on electronics because it isn't voice commanded.

Can't find it, but close enough.

Dr. Susan was indeed the dumbest smart person. She thought it was impossible for robots to malfunction and attack humans because they were programmed to never do it, lol.

 

[Catler]

In a few years, there will only be a few remaining geniuses with fax technology knowledge.

There's a book about this, but I can't remember what it's called. Basically only a handful of people are left with computing knowledge and become basically are the "priests" of the world, because only they can control all the computerized systems that make the world work.

If anyone knows what this book is I'd be curious to know.

 

[Skeletonized Cow]

Of course zoomer office workers are retarded. They're working in an office! Jokes aside, I'm truly baffled by how people are struggling to learn this more than that they don't innately know it. When I had to photocopy paperwork for QA, I was able to be shown it once and basically role from there. It's problem-solving of the most fundamental level.

There's a book about this, but I can't remember what it's called. Basically only a handful of people are left with computing knowledge and become basically are the "priests" of the world, because only they can control all the computerized systems that make the world work.

If anyone knows what this book is I'd be curious to know.

Not exactly the same, but this is basically 40K techpriests.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

No one writing printer drivers has a team of psychologists helping them deliver an addictive dopamine hit with every invoice printed.

Yes they do. You just don't realize how addictive angrily screaming at printers is.

 

[northstar747]

So what made young people computer savy in the past. Was it writing out basic computer games on the c64?

 

[Lurker]

literally gen z

 

[Fomo Hoire]

Fax, sure they can't use it, it's not like they even have to dial a number to call someone anymore.

Pressing a physical button to turn on a monitor? No, they definitely know how to do that. They might need a few tries to figure out which button, but they can figure out that it's not a swipe.

I don't know about TVs these days, but my touch-enabled devices still have a physical power switch that must occasionally be pressed. Power buttons still exist on modern tech.

This hyperbole is like the story of the millenial that "didn't know" what a landlines was, actually knew what a landline was.

By the time she got back to the house to pick her up, the 9-year-old couldn’t wait to share the lightbulb moment she just had.

“She was like, ‘They need to come up with like a phone that’s for the whole family that stays in the house, so if you need any person in the house, you can call that phone,'” Rae relayed. “Like, it’s not just that one person’s number — it’s like the whole family.”

Not missing a beat, Rae told the little girl that that was “an amazing idea.”
“But do you know how we’re always like losing the remote and stuff?” she asked. “For this phone, let’s attach it to a chord, maybe like stick it on the wall, so that if there’s an emergency, we can always find it. It can’t leave the house, and it’s for the whole family.”

In other words, she was describing an old-school landline — to a T.

[...]

More than 2.4 million people have watched the video since it posted. But apparently, not everyone picked up on the fact that Rae was in on the joke and was just being satirical.

I would believe it if you told me they didn't know how to use function keys, but power button is too far.

 

[Muttley]

gen z is not what id called tech savvy
tech dependent? sure.
tech savvy? absolutely fucking not.

 

[Coptakhenaten]

Sometimes I think generational cohorts make little sense unless there are like centuries within said cohort. I'm at the beginning of Gen Z and yet the archetypal zoomer is utterly alien to me. I almost feel bad for them, they won't ever experience things like playing outside, walking over to a friends house, or being away from the internet for more than 30 minutes.

 

[DDR Yoga]

Is laying paper down, pushing a button and waiting for the machine to stop moving really that difficult??

Yes because a little red light comes up on the machine when you press OK. If it's a fancy machine it might even have a little screen reading "error" or "R32" or something. Then you have to find someone who might know how to work it. They will have enough know-how to check the paper and ink, both of which appear to be in full supply, but are then left as baffled as you beyond that point. In the afternoon, the guy from tech support comes in to have a look at it. He has the side of the machine on the floor and is putting his asperger's to full use. After 90 minutes of inspection, the useless thing is declared out of order, a state which it will remain in until the end of the financial year when the company decides to treat the staff to a new one, which displays a little red light on its first outing.

Technology is the devil.

 

[Megaton Punch]

People do not know how to use obsolete technology, the word has come to an end.

In a few years, there will only be a few remaining geniuses with fax technology knowledge.

I think there's a pretty big difference between a fax, which has been rendered completely and utterly obsolete, and a printer, which remains the only practical way to make a text document into a physical object. This article didn't even mention fax machines, just things that are still in use in every office everywhere.

Just because they're old doesn't make them obsolete. Scanners are debatable, since you can just take a picture with your phone and end up with the same result, although unless you're a robot your picture isn't going to be 100% square. Sometimes that matters.