Technophobia

Jason Munroe, a lawyer and a friend of the Clarkes, is a self-confessed technophobe. Yes, you’re right. That quality of his is partially modeled on somebody I know. I’m lucky enough to have my parents share and understand my passion for computers. It’s my grandparents who remain to be convinced that using Skype and a webcam is far superior to a good old landline (especially pricewise on international calls). You see, my granny seems particularly intimidated by The Computer thing. And yet, she used to be a well-qualified doctor, a person with a very demanding job, responsibilities, and a fare share of medical equipment. Still, The Computer is a scary beast to her.

Uncle Jason is very similar. He’s a successful lawyer with a long list of powerful clients. During his twenty-year career he dealt with a variety of criminal cases, helping thousands of people get out of a legal deadlock. Yet, he knows very little about computers. Apart from Word and email, of course.

He’s embarrassed of being a technophobe, but I wonder if technophobia exists as such. Isn’t it part of a bigger fear? Fear of change, or maybe fear of failure? And isn’t it, sometimes, a case of mistaken identity with the lack-of-time problem we all face more and more often? I appreciate that if you are reading this, then you are likely not to be afraid of computers. That’s great, but remember that fear is also a great protection mechanism and is therefore useful. We lock our front doors because of fear of an intruder, so we should remember to lock down our operating systems for that same reason. That little bit of caution can go a long way.