Yonatan Gruber’s funny video about walking his mother through a Zoom call comes from a very real place — and his frustrations are, without a doubt, universal. In these days of social distancing, we have all spent significant amounts of time trying to get our relatives to click the URL, turn on their cameras, because — wait, yes, the button is there! It’s the camera ICON! Seriously! IT’S RIGHT THERE!!!
No, but really, while it’s a pleasure, and oh-so-important to help our loved ones feel more connected, the struggle is very, very real, and Gruber captured it perfectly.
The Israeli comedian’s video (subtitled in English) now has more than 170,000 views on YouTube, making Gruber the newest Israeli turned international viral sensation (others include this Israeli mom and teacher and this 3-year-old genius). The short video is so hilarious because it’s so true! But also, it’s so accurate that it’s kind of giving us PTZD (that’s Post Traumatic Zoom Disorder).
When the video begins, Gruber is pretty calm when he starts his call with his mom — he’s excited to help her with technology! But that calm quickly turns into frustration, then irritation, and by the end, actual tears.
Some classic gems from the video that you are sure to recognize:
“I don’t know what your e-mail password is.”
“How did you get to this screen?!”
“But why did you close the Zoom?”
Gruber, who was born in the Israeli settlement of Efrat and lives in Jaffa with his wife, told Ynet: “It’s a very strange trauma because you want to help and you want to respect [your parents], and it’s not their fault at all… It’s a frustration that I experienced so strongly that I told myself, I have to make a video about this.”
He has received a lot of responses from people who deeply relate. One commenter wrote on his YouTube page: “After I finished laughing, I showed this to my mother. She looked confused and said, ‘What’s so funny? And what is Zoom?’ I started laughing again.”
“Seriously, put my face on this guy and you have me and my dad every time we go on Zoom,” wrote another. “I haven’t laughed this hard in ages. Tears are streaming down my face, and I can’t stop laughing.” .
According to Gruber — who is also involved in the Israeli social music initiative Koolulam — a lot of people keep getting stuck in the same place: copy URL. Other viewers suggested he remotely take over his mother’s screen, but the comedian has admitted he’s actually not so technologically advanced! (Maybe in a few years, our children will post similar videos about helping us conquer a technological feat?!? Gasp!)
For now, however, this story has a happy ending. “My mother is now number one in the country in Zoom,” he said. “She already knows how to open meetings.” Phew! We’re happy all of Gruber’s hard work paid off. What a mensch!
