Computer phobia

[Emily Skarzenski <71220 -dot- 341 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM>]

These are the most-often quoted reasons I hear from people who are "afraid" of
computers.

1. "I might screw something up." A recent example: my chiropractor's office is
going to become computerized within the next month or so, and their
receptionist/secretary is terrified. She is afraid she will screw up everybody's
billing records, or delete everything, or something similarly catastrophic. She
likes her manual paper system because she knows how to fix something if she
makes a mistake -- a little white-out. She is convinced that if she makes a
mistake on the computer, the world will end.

2. "It doesn't do what I want." This I hear from people especially when they are
setting up a new computer. Perhaps everything doesn't work just right when they
take it out of the box, or install a new printer, or whatever. Some of them are
even afraid to call tech support under these conditions because they fear they
won't understand what the technicians are trying to tell them (because they
don't "know about computers.").

Neither of these fears are unfounded. I'm an experienced computer user, but when
my sleep tank gets low, even I have managed to screw up things or delete things
by mistake. And who among us hasn't spent a fair amount of time tweaking our
computers to get them to do everything just right -- or called tech support
organizations where the technicians barely speak English, let alone possess the
skills to troubleshoot a problem with a novice user?

Emily Skarzenski
ICS Deloitte - Chadds Ford, PA
71220 -dot- 341 -at- compuserve -dot- com