“It’s only when you’re flying above it that you realize how incredible the Earth really is.” ~ Philippe Perrin

Today I am going to educate the technology-challenged individuals on the use of the in-flight entertainment touchscreen monitor. Yes, believe it or not, there are many people who do not know how to use these advanced gadgets.

On my last international flight, I experienced this phenomenon. The gentleman (which was nothing gentle) sitting behind me found it difficult to use his display. Every time he placed his clumsy fingers on the display my head thrashed forward in a jolting move.

At first, I thought he was just trying to accommodate himself although I saw no reason for him to be so close to my headrest. Then I felt it again consecutively until I realized what was happening. He was so adamant to get the touch screen display to work that he almost knocked me off my seat. It happened at the beginning of the flight – way too early to confront him and spend seven hours on a flight with a disgruntled passenger. Luckily, it lasted less than five minutes when he finally settled on a movie/program or whatever it was he wanted to watch. Thankfully it wasn’t a game where he needed to constantly touch the screen.

Just as my non-savvy in-flight fellow neighbor put his fingers down I see the lady sitting in the row in front of us do the same to her touch screen. However, the passenger sitting in front of her was not as patient as I was. He kindly got up from his seat and let her know that it was bothering him. He taught her how to lightly tap it with her nail to get it working. It didn’t seem so easy for her and she got a little frustrated. She turned off her screen for a while, then tried it again later and got the hang of it.

I was curious to see how difficult it was to tune in to the desired program so I turned on my touchscreen display. And let me tell you that with a quick nail tap, just like the gentleman two rows ahead of us advised the young lady, it was set! It was simple. Just tap it lightly with your nail, that’s it!

So please remember, it’s called “TOUCH Screen,” not jab your fingers into the display until you reach your front neighbors eye sockets. There’s no need to knock off your in-flight fellow neighbors head dabbing your clumsy fingers into that screen. A slight tap with your nail or tip of your finger will do the trick. 

Safe flying my friends!

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