SINGAPORE: A 26-year-old man took to social media on Tuesday (May 20) to share his frustrations about constantly having to assist his elderly parents with basic digital and communication tasks.
Posting on the r/askSingapore subreddit, he explained that both of his parents, who are in their mid-to-late 60s, are uneducated and heavily illiterate. As a result, they frequently depend on him for small but frequent tasks such as replying to messages on WhatsApp, logging into Singpass, posting comments on Facebook, or spelling English words.
“They are always coming to me for the smallest matters in life,” he said. “And it gets very frustrating, and there are many times when I just want to shout at them, ‘can’t you learn?!’ Why are you so stupid!’
I tried to teach them, but they kept forgetting. While extremely frustrating, I do feel sad for them that Singapore has progressed so much, but many are left behind.”
He concluded his post by asking the community for advice, saying, “I’m quite sure many peeps would face similar issues with semi-elderly parents. So the question is, how do you feel about the need to help? Should you prioritise yourself or stoop to them out of the very reasoning that if I don’t help them, no one will? And how do you navigate it? Thanks!”
“Grace and patience will go a long way…”
The post sparked a wave of responses from fellow Singaporeans, many of whom disagreed with the man’s harsh tone and apparent resentment toward his parents.
One individual wrote, “Extend the patience they once gave you when you were a kid.”
Another commented, “I understand where you are coming from. I think most of us can agree that even though our parents are educated, they still need help with technology, especially how fast-paced it is nowadays. Please try to extend patience or offer alternative ways for them to resolve a problem. For example, if it is banking, maybe they can go to the branch directly to be assisted.
In the bigger scheme of things, though they’re uneducated, they did their best to work hard and educate you so you don’t end up being like them. Grace and patience will go a long way. On their deathbed, you would wish you had spent these 5 minutes teaching them mundane things.”
A third reminded him, “They once taught you how to use a fork and how to button up your shirt.”
In other news, a Singaporean middle manager shared on social media that she’s “burnt out” from the heavy workload and constant scolding she receives from her boss due to her leadership style.
In her post on a local forum, she explained that her boss “constantly micromanages” how she runs her team. Instead of trusting her to lead in her own way, her boss closely monitors her actions and often undermines her authority by dictating how she should interact with her team.
Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)