That Zoom thing, my grandson use it all the time for his school. He said it is good. He always uses that keyboard, click click click, like a chicken pecking rice. So many buttons, I don’t know what they all for. But he said these are the Zoom keyboard commands, make things easier. Easier for him, maybe. Not for me!
He always tells me, “Zoom is good, you can see people far away!” I said, “I can see people here just fine.” These young people, always on the computer. But these keyboard commands, they are something else. My grandson show me some, said they are shortcuts. I don’t know about short, they look long to me.
One he showed me is for zoom in. You know, make the picture bigger. He said you press that “Ctrl” button, I don’t know which one that is, and the “+” button. Plus, like add things together. He said you do that, the picture gets bigger. You can see people’s faces better. I guess that’s good if you have bad eyes. Like me.
Then there’s another one, he said, for zoom out. Make the picture smaller. Same “Ctrl” thing, but this time you press the “-” button. Minus, like take things away. He said you do that, the picture gets smaller. You can see more people at once. I don’t know why you’d want to do that, but he said it’s useful. These young people and their Zoom.
He showed me a whole bunch of them. Too many for me to remember. He said there are commands for starting the video, stopping the video, all kinds of things. You see? Use keyboard, no need mouse, faster. He said they are like magic tricks, these Zoom keyboard commands. One time, his picture disappeared. Gone! He press some button, and whoosh, he was gone. He’s always playing these games, I swear.
I think it’s crazy. Back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy things. We just talked to people face to face. Or we wrote letters. Took a long time, but it was nice. Now it’s all instant. These kids today, they don’t know how to wait for anything. Always need everything right now. That’s why they use these Zoom shortcuts I think. Too impatient to use the mouse. My eyes not good, I can not see very clear for those small buttons on the screen, so I don’t use Zoom.
But I guess it’s good for them. They can talk to their friends, go to school, all from home. It’s a different world now. I don’t understand it all, but I see that it makes them happy. And these keyboard commands, they seem to make it all easier for them. I still don’t know how to use them. I asked him to show me again, but he said I wouldn’t get it. Maybe he’s right.
I always tell them, talk to real people, not just the screen. But they love that Zoom. They use it for everything, even talking to their grandma. They say it’s easier this way. I still prefer the old way, but I guess things change. But I don’t like that Zoom, too complicated.
Here are some of the Zoom keyboard commands he wrote down for me. I still don’t know what they all do, but maybe you’ll understand:
- Ctrl + +: He said this one makes the picture bigger. Like looking through a magnifying glass.
- Ctrl + –: This one makes the picture smaller, he said. Like looking at ants.
- Other commands he wrote down, but I can’t remember what they do. He said they’re for all sorts of things.
That boy, he types so fast. Faster than I can talk! He said with these commands, you can be a “pro” at Zoom. I don’t know what a “pro” is, but it sounds important. Maybe it’s like being the best at something. Like being the best at growing tomatoes. I used to be the best at that. Now I’m just the best at confusing these keyboard things.
If you want to learn these Zoom keyboard commands, you need good eyes, that’s for sure. And maybe a young brain. Mine’s not as young as it used to be. But my grandson, he’s a whiz at it. He said one day he’ll teach me everything. I’m not so sure. I think I’ll stick to my tomatoes. But if you use that Zoom a lot, maybe these shortcuts are for you. Good luck, I think you need it! They are very hard to remember, and I always forget them.
