Who people turn to for help with technology problems varies hugely depending on age according a survey carried out for tech education website What is your tq.

The research conducted by PhoneBus found that a third of the 1010 adults asked, relied on trial and error when setting up a technical device such as a DVD player or video.

However, once they reached the age of 42 many admitted to resorting back to manuals until the age of 55, when they preferred to turn to relatives for help.
Up to the age of 32, people are more likely to ask their friends for help with new technologies than ask a relative.

This, according to Neil Edwards, technology expert at PayPal is because; the challenges people relish in younger years hold less fascination for older people.

“Our fear of failure establishes itself as the confidence, once with us, shifts to younger siblings and relatives who want to do and know everything and the entrepreneurial young expand their knowledge base,” he said

“Technology has always been an area of intrigue for the younger generation so the older we get, the less we feel we need to know about technology because of this.

“Reliance on others knowing more, whether that’s friends or family, is the quickest way to learn so the days when conquering a video recorder is satisfying – even if it takes two days - simply disappears.

“We’re an inpatient nation and we just want to grab a product and get the best out of it in the quickest possible time, without fuss,” he added.”

In addition the survey also found that men are more stubborn than women when it comes to asking for help with nearly half saying they would persist on their own; a sentiment admitted by only a quarter of women.

Women were however, found to be much more open and with almost half admitting to seeking guidance from a relative compared to less than a quarter of men.

A quarter of Brits without children described themselves as being ‘clueless’ when it came to technology, compared to only one in ten of those with children.