Reasons to Hide Your Computer Smarts from Your Family Members

In the Information Age, computer savvy nerds that were once outcasts, have the advantage and are now in a high demand. If you're great with computers, it's best to hide this fact and never reveal your computer savvy identity to your family members - and these are four reasons why.

Reason #1: You'll Become Permanent Tech Support

If you answer any computer question successfully; your family members will crown you "King of computers" and count on you (and only you) when they have any computer issues. Even if another computer smart person or professional offers to help them, they'll simply say "well, I got a computer smart guy my family; I'll have him fix it for me - for free." Revealing that you know about computers is like revealing that the fact that you're a ninja in family of Shogun - you'll never get any rest and you'll always have to answer to someone.

If you don't hide your computer smarts from your family members, expect to be interrupted on a daily basis by phone calls, e-mails, and personal house visits; asking about widgets gadgets any new technological advance. You'll be bombarded with not so smart questions like "how do I turn on my computer", "how do I download the Internet", "can you can set up my Internet", and other nonsensical techie questions and tasks.

Reason #2: You'll Become a Computer Broker

Once identified as a computer smart expert, you'll be contacted whenever any family member decides to buy anything that runs electricity through it. Non computer smart family members have enough money to buy every technological advance but not enough to pay you for your services. You'll be dragged through tons of electronics stores, whenever your not so computer smart family members decides they want be look cool and buy something they can't use. When in an electronics store your technologically illiterate family member will expect you to use your computer smarts to talk "tech" to the salesperson and figure out whether or not they're trying to sell a shoddy product. As an added bonus; after your family member buys the computer gadget they want, they'll expect you to give them full-blown tutorial on the gadget when they get home.

Reason #3: You'll Become a Third-Party Computer Consultant

Birds of a feather flock together - and those that know nothing about computers tend to stay in the same pack. Once your computer illiterate family member learns how computer smart you are, they'll begin to brag to all their friends about how smart you are with computers. Pretty soon you'll find yourself being a free agent to any and all friends of your family members - and answering nonstop tech questions. Your computer illiterate family members love bragging about having a computer smart expert in the family and will volunteer your free services to all their friends. Pretty soon you'll start in to notice random e-mails, friend invites, and phone calls from people that you've never met but are fully familiar with your computer smarts. Before you know it your life will be dedicated to doing computer favors for complete strangers.

Reason #4: You'll Become a One-Man Electronics Store

If any of your computer illiterate family members learn that you know how to "acquire" movies, music, or computer software; they'll never shop at an electronics store again. Never make a music CD, DVD movie, or an application rip for any family members unless you feel like dedicating the rest of your entire life to providing every electronic need to your family members - and you'll never get paid. It's bad enough that they won't pay you to make the CDs and DVDs, but they'll constantly bum CDs off of you, leaving you with none for your own computer needs.