A Grandparents’ Guide to Technology (w. Parental Guidance DVD giveaway)

How tech savvy are the grandparents in your child’s life? Do they Facetime or video Skype chat to see the grandkids on a regular basis if they live far away? Are they adept at using a tablet? Do they send text messages from their phone or troll your Facebook page for the most recent family updates and photos?

Every grandparent has a different level of comfort with technology. Some are more tech savvy than others but a select few grandparents are like fossils who haven’t embraced technology use at all.

If you happened to catch Parental Guidance in the theaters, you’ve already been acquainted with baseball announcer, Artie Decker (Billy Crystal). Decker is made to feel like a technology fossil before his young boss lays him off for not being in the know when it comes to online lingo and iPhone technology.

Debuting on Blu-ray & DVD today, Parental Guidance stars Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, and Marisa Tomei. This film proves that laughter is relative in this hilarious comedy that’s fun for families! To determine if this film is appropriate for all members of your family, please visit Common Sense Media.

About Parental Guidance:

Old-school grandparents Artie (Crystal) and Diane (Midler) get more than they bargained for when they get stuck babysitting their type-A daughter’s (Tomei) overprotected kids.  But things go from hectic to hysterical when Artie realizes the kids are running the house with their newfangled technology.  By playing by his own rules, which include sugary snacks, old fashioned games and tough love, Artie manages to outsmart the kids and achieve the impossible- bring the family closer together!

In honor of grandparents everywhere and the release of Parental Guidance on Blu-Ray and DVD, Fox Home Entertainment has put together a cheat sheet about what your loved ones need to know to become more tech savvy.

• LOL— An acronym for laughing out loud or laugh out loud, “LOL” is perhaps the most ubiquitous word found in internet and text messaging slang. In fact, its use is so widespread that it is increasingly being exercised in face-to-face communication, now that’s “LOL” funny!

• FTW—A guy like Arnie should be about as familiar with this commonly used internet acronym as he is with who ‘s in the running for the World Series. “FTW” stands for ‘for the win’ and is typically used in conversations revolving around sports or debate. It would be in Arnie’s best interest to whip this term out in a conversation regarding his inability to keep up with the latest trends, FTW!

• StumbleUpon— For a Grandfather, to stumble upon something is not usually a good thing but StumbleUpon is a site that virtually archives the best of everything anyone has ever stumbled upon on the internet. So, if grandpa happens upon a really interesting article, he can share it on StumbleUpon and allow others to check it out! Now that beats the physical injury that might have followed Grandpa’s traditional definition of stumbling upon something!

• Facebook— Facebook is the largest online social network with over 1 billion users; the site is one of the best ways to connect with friends and family. Additionally, most businesses and entertainment personalities maintain accounts on the site and often host promotions for fans and consumers on Facebook. Grandpa might want to subscribe to his favorite baseball team’s page in order to stay updated on their latest events and news!

• Twitter— Twitter is one of the ten most visited sites on the internet, all that’s need to join the site is an email address and password.  Site users interact with one another through “tweets,” or 140 character messages, and are permitted to “follow” other users who they find interesting; it is important to note that Twitter’s subscribers include the Fresno Grizzlies!

• Meetup— The Deckers may find that their new social media savvy motivates them to expand their social groups. Meetup.com is just the site to help with that endeavor and will allow Grandma and Grandpa to meet up with grandparents from all walks of life who share their interests.  For Arnie that might mean reaching out to the Fresno baseball Meetup group! All that’s needed to join this site is an active email address for registration.

GIVEAWAY: Share a technology that you wish the grandparents in your child’s life would use to become more tech savvy. Leave a comment below and enter to win your very own Parental Guidance Blu-Ray combo pack!

For an extra entry, complete the above and Tweet this daily, leaving a link to your Tweet in your comment: I entered to win Parental Guidance from @TechSavvyMama & @FoxHomeEnt Enter here: http://bit.ly/14xj4cW #giveaway

 A winner will be selected and notified via email in approximately two weeks for full rules, see Official Sweepstakes Rules. Only U.S. residents are eligible to enter. 

This post was inspired by content provided by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. I will receive a copy of Parental Guidance in exchange for my post but no additional compensation was provided for hosting a giveaway. Amazon Affiliate links included in this post.