Grandma so confused by GIF that she heads directly to Verizon store for answers

Technology is hard.
 By 
Heather Dockray
 on 
Grandma so confused by GIF that she heads directly to Verizon store for answers
Grammy, we get it Credit: frederick m. brown/Getty Images

UPDATE: July 14, 2018, 3:41 p.m. PDT Grammy went back to visit the Verizon store employee who helped her when she was confused by the Steve Harvey GIF on Saturday. Just look at these two.

Original story:

Everyone remembers their first GIF.

Forbes staff writer Alex Konrad was in a group chat with his grandmother, nicknamed Grammy, when one of his family members sent a Steve Harvey GIF. Grammy, who hadn't been exposed to a GIF before, understandably freaked out.

Before you pass judgement, try empathy. Imagine being forced to watch Harvey clap on loop in your phone, unsure if he'll ever stop.

"Help??!!! Who is that person clapping above????? Why??" Grammy wondered.

Though Grammy's family members attempted to explain to her how a GIF functions, she wasn't convinced. So, she headed straight to the Verizon store, and later recapped her experience for the group chat:

"Verizon guy was totally casual about it. Said it's 'Running in a loop' ... & said it would run out eventually. To which I replied but it will use up all its charge & he said "no -- not at all" hmmmm leaving me speechless & perplexed!!!!!!!!!"

As Konrad is a reporter, he conducted a follow-up interview:

"I called Grammy last night to tell her about all this, and her first comment was, 'Are you calling about the clapping man?'" Konrad told Mashable. "We then both started laughing for about 30 seconds. She's a great sport like that, always seeing the good in things and rolling with them."

"I explained what a GIF was to her, and she said the Verizon employee had told her they "went around and around," which got me laughing again. The poor guy was probably doing his best and not sure how to answer such a question. She now knows why Harvey keeps clapping and how to delete him -- but she says she wants to keep him around now for now."

Even Verizon offered to help via Twitter.

Grammy, we (and Steve Harvey) applaud you.

Topics Verizon

Mashable Image
Heather Dockray

Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.

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