People who fear computers do not represent a new phenomenon. Rather, they are part of a long tradition of people who have resisted change, feared the new, developed phobias about things they do not understand, and generally would have retarded progress and new developments had they been able to do so. Clearly, though, they were unable to accomplish this, and thus these technophobes, or people who fear technology, are finally harming only themselves and preventing only themselves from gaining the benefits that others will achieve by embracing these changes. People who fear the computer are substituting the computer for their real fears--fear of loss, fear of change, fear of crime, fear of intrusion. They need to learn that it is not the computer that is the problem but how it is used or how they themselves are failing to learn to use it.
Technophobia is the best term to use because many of these people fear not just computers but many different new technologies found in the home and office today, for computers in some form are embedded in products such as microwave ovens, televisions, coffeepots, fax machines, telephones, and so on. Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University in Dominguez Hills, says that people can be found who are uncomfortable with all of these products, so many that it is estimated that up to 25 percent of the population can be classified as true technophobes:
They avoid technology at all costs. If you force them to use something that involves it, they'll have all the symptoms of a true anxiety reaction: sweaty palms, nervousness, quickened heartbeat. Maybe their mind goes blank (Rae 219).
Rosen suggests one of the reasons why people fear these new technologies--they have no idea what is inside the black box of the product and have bizarre ideas about how they work. While many believe that younger people suffer less from technophobia, Rosen notes that a recent study shows t...