Making Peace with Technology
Notes from the Prairie: I Wonder Column #14
A few years ago I said that, as an older adult, I had a love-hate relationship with my laptop. I still think the love part is true. No, I don’t feel a warm fuzzy love such as I felt for my husband when we married. But yes, it does provide me a great sense of fulfillment and pleasure when I use it as a word processor.
Some writers say they can now write two books in the same amount of time required to complete just one back in the typewriter era. I believe them.
I love the ease with which I can string words together in sentences, correct typos, and change the order of those words. I enjoy being able to move an entire paragraph from one location to another.
I love saving a draft, renaming my document, and then working on it further without fear of losing a version that I suddenly discover worked well after all.
Today, though, I wonder if “hate” accurately describes the flip side of my relationship with my laptop. I remember how I felt when my son set up my first computer. I was afraid if I stroked a wrong combination of keys, smoke would rise from the computer tower, sparks would fly, and all of my words in it would disappear forever.
I have overcome that fear, but others rise up powerfully whenever I move outside my word-processing comfort zone.
I am afraid when I contact tech support people in a chat box or by telephone. I fear I won’t understand them, and they will regard me as ignorant, stupid, or both.
I am scared when seeking the solution to a technical question online. The fear doesn’t grab me on my first question but on my third or fourth, when I am searching the meaning of terms in the original answer.
I fear that I will become stuck and never be able to resolve an issue or complete a specific project. Halfway through using a template to create an author website, I have hit a wall. My tech-savvy son has already helped me with one wall. Do I dare to call and tell him I am stuck again?
I wonder, Do other older adults share my fears? I know the audience laughed and nodded when I mentioned that love-hate relationship.
I search online and AI, which I am learning to enjoy, pops up some answers for me. It provides several names for these fears, more prevalent among older adults:
Technophobia: irrational fear of technology
Cyberphobia: irrational and persistent fear of computers, the internet, or other digital technologies
Telephobia: irrational fear when talking on a telephone
The resources indicate, though, that technophobia and cyberphobia are not yet listed as official psychological diagnoses.
My research confirms that older adults use digital technology less than younger adults. We might criticize technological changes, resist upgrading our technologies, or refuse to use them at all.
But the news is also encouraging: older adult use of digital technologies is rising. The National Institutes of Health reports the number of older adults who own a smartphone has risen dramatically from 18% in 2013 to 83% (age 50–64) and 61% (age 65+) in 2022. An even larger portion of older adults owns a laptop or computer (90%) and uses the internet.*
I wonder what we older adults can do about our strong, lingering fears. I’ve heard enough friends vent their fears and frustrations to know I am not alone.
The Cleveland Clinic advises this:
Ask for help from a family member, friend or coworker.
Call in experts: H a professional trainer or take devices to repair shops.
Focus on one task or device at a time.
Take your time and don’t feel pressure to learn every new technology at once.**
I consider the Cleveland Clinic list.
I do consult with my technically skilled son. But I also want to be careful not to consume too much of his time.
I do consult with professional experts. When my connection to my Wi-Fi mouse stopped working, I brought my problem to my computer technician, and he fixed it in ten minutes.
Yes, I should bite off smaller chunks. I don’t always focus on one thing at a time. I sometimes feel as if I should master multiple steps at once.
Yes, I should take my time building my website. I will focus on just one step at a time and take it slowly. If I hit a wall, I will take a break and then examine each brick. If I run stuck, I can consult my son or pay my computer technician.
Reading this list has reduced my fears. When I finish my online reading, a memory of a long-ago movie floats to mind. In the 1930s a family has just invested in a new technology: electricity. Shaking and fearful, they press their new light switch for the first time. Light floods the room! They laugh and clap and hug each other, amazed and filled with wonder.
I will never fix a broken electrical wire, but I have no fear of flipping a light switch. I will never fix my computer malfunctions either, but step by step and breathing deeply, I can reduce the size and intensity of my technology fears.
I think I will try taking one tiny step on that stuck website.
*https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9494377
**https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22853-technophobia
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Carol Van Klompenburg is a writer living in Pella, Iowa. She has a BA in English and an MA in Theater Arts, and she is available for reading performances of her work. Her email address is carolvk13@gmail.com.
Her latest book, A World in a Grain of Sand: Lively Little Stories of Household Stuff, is available in Pella from Carol or from Pella’s Curiosity Shop. It can also be ordered from Amazon. Readers are calling it “stirring,” “winsome,” and “delightful.”