Are you afraid of Technology?

13 Feb 08

Are you afraid of Technology?

     I’m not, but you may be.  Yep, if you are, you may be a Technophobe.  

     At the risk of mimicking Jeff Foxworthy, the blue collar comic, “you may be a Technophobe if you…..”  No, let’s not go down that path…

     But it is true that people feel intimidated by technology.  And I could never understand why.  This decade is a wonderful time to be alive.  We are witnessing the maturation of technology with almost everything we do in our daily lives.  Indeed, I could easily write pages and pages of examples.  However, my point is simply this: technology is not really that mysterious.  It is not voodoo or the wonderful Wizard of Oz.  In fact, the mechanics of it all are rather straightforward and most often boring. 

     My kids are not afraid of technology.  Oh no, not at all.  On the contrary, they embrace many dimensions of technology and rely on technology to facilitate their daily tasks and activities.  But, unlike me (their nerdy dad), they are not infatuated with technology.  They are not Technophiles like me.  The fact is my kids take technology for granted.  To them, it is nothing special.  Technology is pervasive in their lives.  Always on, always available and always connected.  Technology is just there.  

     All of which offers up an interesting observation: Is Technophobia generational?  Is it a valid generalization that the older one is, the more likely one is intimidated by technology?  At the risk of subscribing to stereotypes, I think so.

     My mother is a perfect example.  She feels as comfortable around a PC as much as a bomb disposal expert feels disarming an explosive device.  She’s afraid that she will do something wrong.  Which astounds me.  A computer never makes a mistake.  It will always do what you tell it to.  The problem is: people don’t tell it to do things correctly.  But people never admit to that, huh?  It is always “this stupid thing did this….” or “I just don’t understand why my PC always does that…”

     Have you ever noticed how sensitive people are about their computer skills?  Oh my.  People do not want to be perceived as inadequate or less than competent when operating a PC in front of someone else.  With some people, it’s like you insulted their kids or something if you in any way suggest that more training is probably needed.  But ask any Help Desk Manager.  In the vast majority of service calls, user error is at the root of most problems.  But for us customer service providers, we must be careful in pointing that out.  In some cases, with some people, it is downright dangerous to point that out! Indeed, in this day and age, we technologists must be up on our tradecraft AND possess superior people/customer service skills. 

     By chance, have you also ever noticed how often students teach teachers on the use of current technology?  What implications does this have for assessing or measuring learning outcomes in the classroom?  Are older faculty members missing out on some wonderful tools that could improve and enrich the teaching and learning experience?  Unfortunately, I believe this to be true (but self-healing as younger faculty members enter the workforce).

     So… what am I really trying to say or suggest here?  Simply that technology is straightforward and some training is often required.  Do you want to see some magic?  Just take a novice user and dedicate some quality training time to his or her use of software.  I promise you, he or she will return from class with a positive attitude and a feeling of accomplishment.  More importantly, this person will feel empowered.  He or she will become more productive and, more importantly, he or she will feel less intimidated about technology.

     ….. that is, until the next time that mean-spirited, finicky PC loses or deletes that critical file!

P.S.

…..AND just wait until the PC starts talking to you.  How will YOU react when you start hearing voices!