Bored Panda reached out to Redditor @smarthawk, who shared a picture of a toasted keyboard on r/techgore which amassed 10.4k upvotes. The caption said: “User spilled coffee on his laptop - so he put it in the oven to dry it out…” Turns out, @smarthawk has been working in IT support for the past 5 years, so he has seen a lot of cases like this.

“I think that they are accurate depictions of some of the things you run into in hardware support,” the IT support specialist told us when asked if pictures posted on r/techgore reflect the truth or are exaggerated. He added: “Some things are obviously more shocking than others.”

On the other hand, “I think that the general population is definitely getting more comfortable using technology but, no matter how confident you are, there's always moments where someone has a brainfart and breaks something,” @smarthawk said. In that sense, even if you’re very familiar with technology, faux pas still happen and your gadget may end up on the wall of r/techgore.

But when it comes to tech-savviness, the difference between generations is obvious. While many people of older generations still struggle to navigate in tech, gens like gen Z and gen X have already grown up with it, not knowing what it means not to have a smartphone.

In fact, a 2018 study by Pew Center showed that fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online 'almost constantly.' The same survey also found that there is no clear consensus among teens about the effect that social media has on the lives of young people today. Minorities of teens describe that effect as mostly positive (31%) or mostly negative (24%), but the largest share (45%) says that effect has been neither positive nor negative.

However, the situation is much different in the elder part of the population. Pew Research studies continue to show that, while internet access among those 65+ is inching up, among the oldest age cohorts, two-thirds of the 74+ population do not own a computer (laptop or desktop), and virtually none have a tablet computer or smartphone.

The gap in online access among the older seniors can be explained by keeping in mind the complex process for getting equipment and the service to acquire it. First, a senior must obtain both an internet service plan of some type and a relatively current computer that is fast enough to use with today’s graphics-rich websites.

Moreover, the computer must be configured with a user’s individual information; and someone must be available, especially early on, to provide training on the use of the device and support for questions about online tools. What makes it harder is that most technology innovation is targeted at youth, who virtually have no struggle implementing tech novelties in their daily life.

While technology continues to seep into every aspect of our lives, many adults in the US remain divided about what impact it has on our lives. The Harris Poll showed that strong majorities believe that technology has improved the overall quality of their lives (71%) and encourages people to be more creative (68%).

However, strong majorities also believe technology is creating a lazy society (73%), has become too distracting (73%), is corrupting interpersonal communications (69%), and is having a negative impact on literacy (59%).

It should also be noted that just like in computer literacy, generations hold differing opinions when looking at any aspect of technology. Knowing that millennials are traditionally the most attuned to their tech devices, it comes as no surprise that this group is more likely to say technology has had a positive effect on nearly all aspects tested, like: ability to learn new skills (72% vs. 59% Gen Xers, 60% Baby Boomers & 56% Matures), relationships with friends (59% vs. 46%, 36% & 34%), and social life (57% & 42%, 30% & 29%).

The main exception is productivity. The poll showed that millennials are more likely than all other generations to say technology has had a negative effect on their productivity both at home (32% vs. 21% Gen Xers, 20% Baby Boomers & 14% Matures) and at work (14% vs. 8%, 3% & 2%).

Despite many concerns, it’s clear Americans still have a hard time unplugging. When faced with a list of technological devices and general life staples and asked how long they could live without each, majorities of Americans indicate that they could make it a week or less without Internet access (67%), a computer/laptop (60%), mobile phone (59%), or television (55%), with over two in ten going so far as to state that they simply could not live without them (27%, 22%, 26% and 21%, respectively).