Computer Fear Syndrome
Don’t be alarmed if you are among the hundreds, maybe thousands, who are stricken by this syndrome. It appears to affect only those past fifty. Children are safe. They become immune to the disorder in the classroom. I, for one, am definitely afflicted.
It all began eight years ago when I said to my son, Bruce, “I think I should learn to use the computer. If children in the first grade can do it, I think your mother should be able to handle it.
A short time later, Bruce arrived with several items. A computer, with the item that I called a screen and he called a monitor and a black and white printer. (The color printer arrived, as a birthday present, two years later.) My wonderful son also arrived with a new jargon that blew my mind. No longer did I not only need to figure out how to operate the computer, I had to install, in my brain, a brand new language. And the seventy-eight year old brain said, “Hold It! I’m not sure I can handle this.”
That is when the fear syndrome set in. I thought, and expressed, that I was afraid to try new concepts because I might damage the computer. That really wasn’t the case at all, I was afraid that I couldn’t comprehend what I felt I should know. My mind, which remains bright enough in many ways, has simply not been programmed to absorb technical concepts. ‘Hello!! What do I do now,” I ask my mind and it replied “Think… Think… Think….” And I try, but I’m sure that the part of my brain, the part that relates to these computer facts, has never been properly developed. It’s not being stubborn. It’s the syndrome. The one that says, “You might not be able to understand.”
The truth is that I know enough about the computer to write my book, send and receive Emails, and access the Internet to search for whatever it is that I want to know. The truth also is that I may not be able to absorb, as I did when I was younger, too many instructions at one time. Plop! goes my brain after the second instruction and I’m sitting in a puddle of confusion. Then the poor brain doesn’t know what to do with me and sends the ‘Enough’ signal that say’s “We’ll try again later.”
I’ve really liked and respected my brain. There is some knowledge, some wisdom and some creativity. That keeps my life interesting. There also is a lack of formal education that at times confronts me when I run into something that I don’t understand. Present problem is that I’ve run into a huge wall with two web pages staring at me from the opposite side. Can’t seem to get to them and batting my head against that wall only causes a headache.
I had just begun to understand the web page Bruce installed for me. He did a great job, and I was able to access the information. The only problem is that, in some cases, those trying to access the page need to provide a pin number. New problem to confront. I’m wondering if this new problem thing is part of our technical advancement? It seems to appear with every new change.
To solve that problem, my special friend David arrived to install an impressive web page. I am now in the process of trying to figure out my directions for working with it. I was scribbling them on paper while David explained the process I would need to use. Now they make no sense. The address does read elegantly . . . vailia.blogspot.com . . . and I am delighted to have it in spite of the confusion. But I do feel as though I’m playing hopscotch with no squares written on the sidewalk.
Oh! Well! Slowly, very slowly, I will figure it out. That is what normally occurs. At that time, the part of me that is afraid that I can’t accomplish this concept will be put to sleep…..until the next computer fear syndrome finds a reason to exist.
It all began eight years ago when I said to my son, Bruce, “I think I should learn to use the computer. If children in the first grade can do it, I think your mother should be able to handle it.
A short time later, Bruce arrived with several items. A computer, with the item that I called a screen and he called a monitor and a black and white printer. (The color printer arrived, as a birthday present, two years later.) My wonderful son also arrived with a new jargon that blew my mind. No longer did I not only need to figure out how to operate the computer, I had to install, in my brain, a brand new language. And the seventy-eight year old brain said, “Hold It! I’m not sure I can handle this.”
That is when the fear syndrome set in. I thought, and expressed, that I was afraid to try new concepts because I might damage the computer. That really wasn’t the case at all, I was afraid that I couldn’t comprehend what I felt I should know. My mind, which remains bright enough in many ways, has simply not been programmed to absorb technical concepts. ‘Hello!! What do I do now,” I ask my mind and it replied “Think… Think… Think….” And I try, but I’m sure that the part of my brain, the part that relates to these computer facts, has never been properly developed. It’s not being stubborn. It’s the syndrome. The one that says, “You might not be able to understand.”
The truth is that I know enough about the computer to write my book, send and receive Emails, and access the Internet to search for whatever it is that I want to know. The truth also is that I may not be able to absorb, as I did when I was younger, too many instructions at one time. Plop! goes my brain after the second instruction and I’m sitting in a puddle of confusion. Then the poor brain doesn’t know what to do with me and sends the ‘Enough’ signal that say’s “We’ll try again later.”
I’ve really liked and respected my brain. There is some knowledge, some wisdom and some creativity. That keeps my life interesting. There also is a lack of formal education that at times confronts me when I run into something that I don’t understand. Present problem is that I’ve run into a huge wall with two web pages staring at me from the opposite side. Can’t seem to get to them and batting my head against that wall only causes a headache.
I had just begun to understand the web page Bruce installed for me. He did a great job, and I was able to access the information. The only problem is that, in some cases, those trying to access the page need to provide a pin number. New problem to confront. I’m wondering if this new problem thing is part of our technical advancement? It seems to appear with every new change.
To solve that problem, my special friend David arrived to install an impressive web page. I am now in the process of trying to figure out my directions for working with it. I was scribbling them on paper while David explained the process I would need to use. Now they make no sense. The address does read elegantly . . . vailia.blogspot.com . . . and I am delighted to have it in spite of the confusion. But I do feel as though I’m playing hopscotch with no squares written on the sidewalk.
Oh! Well! Slowly, very slowly, I will figure it out. That is what normally occurs. At that time, the part of me that is afraid that I can’t accomplish this concept will be put to sleep…..until the next computer fear syndrome finds a reason to exist.
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