
What Is Technophobia and How to Overcome It?
If you have ever hesitated to use your child’s smartphone or wondered how to operate a computer without someone giving you guidance, you may not be alone. A number of people find it difficult to deal with technology, and gadgets inspire fear in them. Some people take this fear to an extreme and may be called ‘technophobics’ by psychologists. “Many people experience technophobia, and being technophobic can make even simple gadgets feel overwhelming or intimidating.” People with technophobia often experience intense tech fear when faced with new digital devices. “Many people who fear technology gradually develop a deeper phobia of technology as digital devices become more integrated into everyday life. Despite the rise of technophobia, even many technophobes are beginning to rely on smartphones for daily tasks. To understand the technophobe meaning, we first need to ask, what is technophobia? Some individuals experience tech fear—the fear of technology, called technophobia. Tech phobia is common among people who fear tech and feel overwhelmed by rapid digital change. The phobia of computers, meaning of technophobia, is becoming more widely discussed as technology advances. Technology fear often grows into a deeper fear of technology when someone feels overwhelmed by rapid change. Her fear of laptops grew into a broader techophobia that affected her daily life. Tachnophobia can arise when computer fear becomes overwhelming and people avoid using technology altogether. Technophobia is not an officially recognized mental illness, but it is the extreme and irrational fear of technology. Usually, this fear is related to irrational fear of computers, robots, artificial intelligence, weapons, and other such things that seem advanced in scientific thought. Many people fear genetically modified organisms (GMOs) too, though research shows that they are safe to consume. In other words, fear of science and technology is a very real problem in our societies, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that one can find a technophobe around every street corner. Technology phobia is common among people who fear tech and feel overwhelmed by rapid digital changes. People with technophobia often fear tech because they worry it will be too difficult to control or understand. Fear or just aversion to technology? Yet, in this article, we are going to discuss technophobia as a general term, not as the extreme avoidance of computers as people understand it. So, for the scope of this article, technophobia is hesitation or aversion towards new technologies, especially cloud technology, mobile applications, the use of the Internet, and coding. This is a huge problem today because a number of businesses are still using computers that run on Windows XP, and refuse to bring in any sort of technological advancement to their companies. This has resulted in loss of growth, stagnation of economy and a general sense of lethargy that is simply not required. The fear of technology, often referred to as tech phobia, can prevent people from embracing modern digital tools. [php snippet=1] Most of these companies that refuse to adopt new technologies often have CEOs that are resistant to changes, directors who are technophobic in the real term, and people who just do not want to see any kind of changes made at all. All these categories of people have hampered the growth of their own companies and of society in general. In this article, let us understand what technophobia is and how we can overcome it so that newer technologies can be adopted without fearing them. Of course, this is not going to happen all of a sudden and will take time, but the effort put in is certainly worth it. A technophobe is someone whose fear of technology is called technophobia. Self-help Self-help does not get the credit it usually deserves. While books like The Secret and others are panned by certain people, there are a lot of self-help techniques that can actually work. You will need to find out what is best for you. If you believe your aversion towards technology is irrational and that it must be paid attention to, you have already reached a certain level of insight. This insight can further be developed into making positive changes in life that will help to introduce technology slowly but surely. Her technophobia, a deep fear of technology, made her avoid using smartphones and computers. Fear of technology is called technophobia, and fear of computers is called logizomechanophobia. For example, Sam was fearful of smartphones. He initially purchased a basic cellphone model and graduated to using a smartphone. He did not give his number to everyone and instead, only allowed his daughter to call him. Slowly, he started to converse with his friends on the phone and in the end, he encouraged himself to check emails, call the customer, etc. Counseling If self help techniques do not help, counseling can be the next step. Counselors do not train mental health issues nor are they trained to do that. They only help you to gain clarity about your situation and advise what could be the best thing to do. Counselors may assess your situation and tell you why you are avoiding technology though it is obviously harming you. They may teach you certain techniques and listen to you patiently when you discuss your fears. Most people may ridicule your technophobia but a counselor will validate your fears and emotions. That alone is enough to help you start making positive changes in your life. For Example: Nicole always avoided her computer and was not able to use Skype to make video calls to her son. She sought the help of a counselor who pointed out that if she avoids her fear, she will never overcome it. Nicole slowly started to make video calls to not only her son, but also to her colleagues. Support groups When just counseling will not help, you may seek the help of support groups. Support groups are great for people who wish to share their stories with others. They can also learn from others how they are dealing with a