10 Stupid Questions Technology Keeps Asking
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Savannah Sher
Sometimes your devices seem more like a curse than a cure. For this list, we're counting down the most annoying things that you have to constantly ignore on your smart phones, computers, and other tech devices. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Questions You Wish Technology Would Stop Asking You.
Top 10 Questions You Wish Technology Would Stop Asking You
Sometimes your devices seem more like a curse than a cure. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Questions You Wish Technology Would Stop Asking You.
For this list, we’re counting down the most annoying things that you have to constantly ignore on your smart phones, computers, and other tech devices.
No matter what internet browser you use, be it Chrome, Safari, or if for whatever reason you still use Internet Explorer, you’ve fallen victim to this question. You’re browsing, you’re minding your own business, you’re opening and closing tabs, and suddenly this pops up. We get it, their hearts are in the right place. They don’t want you to accidentally shut down a window or close a tab that has something important on it. But most of us are conscious and deliberate in our decisions here and probably clicked that little “x” quite willingly.
We know how scary technology can be. Have you seen any episode of “Black Mirror?” But at this point, we’re still not all that scared of our own computers. That’s why it’s always so funny when you plug your phone into a computer and it asks you this age-old question. It’s not so much the meaning behind it, but rather the phrasing that makes this one seem so ridiculous. In fact, the question is so prevalent that a movie was made with the phrase as its title.
Of course we want to try Amazon Prime! But we’ve already used our 30-day free trial with every email address we have and even a few that we created just for this purpose. And you know we always forget to cancel before it starts charging our credit card! Obviously getting free two-day shipping is awesome, but life is expensive enough already and we can’t afford another monthly charge. Oh, and this doesn’t just apply to Amazon, it’s just as irksome when Twitch asks the question.
Don’t get us wrong, we love us some Hulu, but there’s something that feels so insulting about being asked which ad experience we’d prefer. Obviously, the answer is no ad experience! No ad experience at all! And what’s with calling it an ad *experience* in the first place? They’re really trying to elevate it to something it’s not. Some have compared it to choosing which method of torture you’d like to take part in. They know we’re already paying for this service, right? Netflix would never do this to us!
Is there any question that strikes fear in your heart like this one? You’re trying to be responsible. All you want is for your computer to work faster. You haven’t emptied your virtual trash can in months and you can’t even begin to imagine the things that are in there. You’re feeling confident that it’s all junk. You deleted it in the first place, right? You haven’t thought about it once since. But then this question pops up and you start to second guess yourself. Should you go through it all just to make sure? Luckily, there’s actually a way to disable this so you never have to deal with it again.
What is this, 1995? Does anyone want to make Internet Explorer their default browser? How did we even end up opening Internet Explorer in the first place? Is this some kind of virus? Let’s be real, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are where it’s at, and unless your office for some reason requires that this is your default, you probably haven’t used Explorer in years. Luckily, like some of the other entries on our list today, there is a way to disable this embarrassing question from ever popping up again.
What? The internet, you say? We’ve heard that some sketchy stuff goes down there. At least that’s what our grandmas told us. Is this question meant to intimidate us? Who is saying no to this... ever? Everything is downloaded from the internet! They’re not even telling us that the application was downloaded from a source that can’t be trusted. Do you think we somehow didn’t realize we were using the internet? What does any of this even mean? It shouldn’t have taken us so long to disable this one...
Think back on your life. When was the last time you can remember clicking “shut down” on your computer, and your computer actually listening to you? It’s not that simple! You think you can just click shut down and your computer will shut down? What kind of dream world are you living in? There will always be applications in the way, no matter how many you close. You never realize just how many things are running unseen in the background until you actually want to power down. At this point, it’s way easier to just hold the power button. Oh, and while we’re at it, we’re also sure we want to log out.
It’s Friday night, your Seamless order just arrived, and you’re settled in to binge a few more episodes of your favorite show. Then the unthinkable happens. Netflix dares to inquire whether you’re actually still there. We get enough judgement from our parents thank you very much, we don’t need it from our streaming services. To be fair, we do sometimes fall asleep in front of our laptops with “The Office” playing in the background and it’s nice to eventually get a proper REM cycle in silence, but this one still stings every time we see it.
Oh, do you mean the new version that might make our phones slower? No thank you! Updates to software should make your tech better, but it often seems to introduce new problems that you didn’t have before. It’s so much easier to click “remind me later” than to actually deal with the problem that this one is a daily annoyance for most. Similarly, when you tell us that (xref)"A New Version of iTunes Is Available” and ask if we want to download it, you have to know that we don’t. And clicking that “do not ask me this again” box seems to do absolutely nothing.
Sometimes your devices seem more like a curse than a cure. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Questions You Wish Technology Would Stop Asking You.
For this list, we’re counting down the most annoying things that you have to constantly ignore on your smart phones, computers, and other tech devices.
#10: “Are You Sure You Want to Leave This Page?”
No matter what internet browser you use, be it Chrome, Safari, or if for whatever reason you still use Internet Explorer, you’ve fallen victim to this question. You’re browsing, you’re minding your own business, you’re opening and closing tabs, and suddenly this pops up. We get it, their hearts are in the right place. They don’t want you to accidentally shut down a window or close a tab that has something important on it. But most of us are conscious and deliberate in our decisions here and probably clicked that little “x” quite willingly.
#9: "Do You Trust This Computer?"
We know how scary technology can be. Have you seen any episode of “Black Mirror?” But at this point, we’re still not all that scared of our own computers. That’s why it’s always so funny when you plug your phone into a computer and it asks you this age-old question. It’s not so much the meaning behind it, but rather the phrasing that makes this one seem so ridiculous. In fact, the question is so prevalent that a movie was made with the phrase as its title.
#8: "Would You Like to Try Prime?"
Of course we want to try Amazon Prime! But we’ve already used our 30-day free trial with every email address we have and even a few that we created just for this purpose. And you know we always forget to cancel before it starts charging our credit card! Obviously getting free two-day shipping is awesome, but life is expensive enough already and we can’t afford another monthly charge. Oh, and this doesn’t just apply to Amazon, it’s just as irksome when Twitch asks the question.
#7: “Which Ad Experience Do You Prefer?”
Don’t get us wrong, we love us some Hulu, but there’s something that feels so insulting about being asked which ad experience we’d prefer. Obviously, the answer is no ad experience! No ad experience at all! And what’s with calling it an ad *experience* in the first place? They’re really trying to elevate it to something it’s not. Some have compared it to choosing which method of torture you’d like to take part in. They know we’re already paying for this service, right? Netflix would never do this to us!
#6: “Are You Sure You Want to Permanently Erase the Items in the Trash?”
Is there any question that strikes fear in your heart like this one? You’re trying to be responsible. All you want is for your computer to work faster. You haven’t emptied your virtual trash can in months and you can’t even begin to imagine the things that are in there. You’re feeling confident that it’s all junk. You deleted it in the first place, right? You haven’t thought about it once since. But then this question pops up and you start to second guess yourself. Should you go through it all just to make sure? Luckily, there’s actually a way to disable this so you never have to deal with it again.
#5: "Would You Like to Make Internet Explorer Your Default Browser?"
What is this, 1995? Does anyone want to make Internet Explorer their default browser? How did we even end up opening Internet Explorer in the first place? Is this some kind of virus? Let’s be real, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are where it’s at, and unless your office for some reason requires that this is your default, you probably haven’t used Explorer in years. Luckily, like some of the other entries on our list today, there is a way to disable this embarrassing question from ever popping up again.
#4: "This Application Was Downloaded from the Internet, Are You Sure You Want to Open It?"
What? The internet, you say? We’ve heard that some sketchy stuff goes down there. At least that’s what our grandmas told us. Is this question meant to intimidate us? Who is saying no to this... ever? Everything is downloaded from the internet! They’re not even telling us that the application was downloaded from a source that can’t be trusted. Do you think we somehow didn’t realize we were using the internet? What does any of this even mean? It shouldn’t have taken us so long to disable this one...
#3: "Are You Sure You Want to Shut Down Your Computer?"
Think back on your life. When was the last time you can remember clicking “shut down” on your computer, and your computer actually listening to you? It’s not that simple! You think you can just click shut down and your computer will shut down? What kind of dream world are you living in? There will always be applications in the way, no matter how many you close. You never realize just how many things are running unseen in the background until you actually want to power down. At this point, it’s way easier to just hold the power button. Oh, and while we’re at it, we’re also sure we want to log out.
#2: “Are You Still Watching?”
It’s Friday night, your Seamless order just arrived, and you’re settled in to binge a few more episodes of your favorite show. Then the unthinkable happens. Netflix dares to inquire whether you’re actually still there. We get enough judgement from our parents thank you very much, we don’t need it from our streaming services. To be fair, we do sometimes fall asleep in front of our laptops with “The Office” playing in the background and it’s nice to eventually get a proper REM cycle in silence, but this one still stings every time we see it.
#1: “Would You Like the Latest Software Update?”
Oh, do you mean the new version that might make our phones slower? No thank you! Updates to software should make your tech better, but it often seems to introduce new problems that you didn’t have before. It’s so much easier to click “remind me later” than to actually deal with the problem that this one is a daily annoyance for most. Similarly, when you tell us that (xref)"A New Version of iTunes Is Available” and ask if we want to download it, you have to know that we don’t. And clicking that “do not ask me this again” box seems to do absolutely nothing.
