Making Peace with Technology

By Guest Writer Carol Van Klompenburg

Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

I got tripped up by an online scam again last month. I thought I knew better. The short version: I was summoned for jury duty, unintentionally followed a link to a phishing website, and had to go through a lengthy process to delete any potential damage.

Older adults get tricked by technology for many reasons:

1. We tend to be more trusting and don’t expect to be scammed.

2. Physically, our eyesight diminishes, and it’s harder to catch small print and easy-to-click links without knowing where they’ll lead.

3. We’re less computer savvy than younger people are.

With that in mind, I’m sharing Carol Van Klompenberg's article “Making Peace with Technology.” It’s a great reminder for people as they age well and navigate this unknown and often scary territory.

Guest Post

A few years ago, I said that, as an older adult, I had a love-hate relationship with my laptop. I still think the love part is true. No, I don’t feel a warm fuzzy love such as I felt for my husband when we married. But yes, it does provide me a great sense of fulfillment and pleasure when I use it as a word processor.

Some writers say they can now write two books in the same amount of time required to complete just one back in the typewriter era. I believe them.

I love the ease with which I can string words together in sentences, correct typos, and change the order of those words. I enjoy being able to move an entire paragraph from one location to another.

I love saving a draft, renaming my document, and then working on it further without fear of losing a version that I suddenly discovered worked well after all.

Today, though, I wonder if “hate” accurately describes the flip side of my relationship to my laptop. I remember how I felt when my son set up my first computer. I was afraid that if I stroked a wrong combination of keys, smoke would rise from the computer tower, sparks would fly, and all the words it contained would disappear forever.

I have overcome that fear, but others rise up powerfully whenever I move outside my word-processing comfort zone.

• I am afraid when I contact tech support people in a chat box or by telephone. I am afraid I won’t understand them, and they will regard me as ignorant, stupid, or both.

• I feel fear when seeking the solution to a technical question online. The fear doesn’t grab me on my first question but on my third or fourth when I am searching for the meaning of terms in the original answer.

• I fear that I will become stuck and never be able to resolve an issue or complete a specific project. Halfway through using a template to create an author website, I have hit a wall. My tech-savvy son has already helped me with one wall. Do I really dare to call and tell him I am stuck again?

I find myself wondering, Do other older adults share my fears?

I search online, and AI, which I am learning to enjoy, pops up some answers for me. It provides several names for these fears, more prevalent among older adults:

• Technophobia: irrational fear of technology

• Cyberphobia: irrational and persistent fear of computers, the internet, or other digital technologies

• Telephobia: irrational fear when talking on a telephone

The resources indicate, though, that technophobia and cyberphobia are not yet listed as official psychological diagnoses.

My research confirms that older adults use digital technology less than younger adults. We may criticize technological changes, resist upgrading our technologies, or refuse to use them at all.

But the news is also encouraging: older adult use of digital technologies is rising. The National Institutes of Health reports the number of older adults who own a smartphone has risen dramatically from 18% in 2013 to 83% (age 50–64) and 61% (age 65+) in 202. An even larger portion of older adults own a laptop or computer (90%) and use the internet.[1]

I wonder what we older adults can do about our strong, lingering fears. I’ve heard enough friends vent their fears and frustrations to know I am not alone.

The Cleveland Clinic advises this:

• Ask for help from a family member, friend or coworker.

• Call in experts, such as hiring a professional trainer or taking devices to repair shops.

• Focus on one task or device at a time.

• Take your time and don’t feel pressure to learn every new technology at once.[2]

I consider the Cleveland Clinic list.

• I do consult with my technically skilled son. But I also want to be careful not to consume too much of his time.

• I do consult with professional experts. When my Wi-Fi mouse stopped working, I brought it to my computer technician, and he fixed it in ten minutes.

• Yes, I should bite off smaller chunks. I don’t always focus on one thing at a time. I sometimes feel as if I should master multiple steps at once.

• Yes, I should take my time building my website. I will focus on just one step at a time and take it slowly. If I hit a wall, I will take a break and then examine each brick. If I run stuck, I can consult my son or pay my computer technician.

Reading this list reduces my fears. When I finish my online reading, a memory of a long-ago movie floats to mind. In the 1930s a family has just invested in a new technology: electricity. Shaking and fearful, they press their new light switch for the first time. Light floods the room! They laugh and clap and hug each other, amazed and filled with wonder.

I will never fix a broken electrical wire, but I have no fear of flipping a light switch. I will never fix my computer malfunctions either, but step by step and breathing deeply, I can reduce the size and intensity of my technology fears.

I think I will try taking one tiny step on that stuck website.

In addition to writing the Notes From The Prairie newsletter, Carol is a columnist and author of 14 books, including “A World in a Grain of Sand: Lively Little Stories of Household Stuff,” and “Creative Aging: 52 Ways to Add Life to Your Years.”

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[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9494377

[2] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22853-technophobia