When people were afraid of computers. What the newspapers of the 80s wrote / IBM Blog

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In the early 1980s, the era of personal computers began and "computerophobia" suddenly spread everywhere. People suffering from it showed various “methods of counteraction, fears, anxiety and hostility,” according to the 1996 book Women and Computers . “This could manifest such forms as a fear of physical contact with a computer or damage to it, a fear of what is inside, a reluctance to read or talk about computers, a feeling of an outgoing threat from those who know something about computers, a feeling that you can be replaced by a machine make her a slave, as well as a sense of aggression towards computers. ”

People often have a similar phenomenon during serious technological changes - in fact, during any changes - a sudden manifestation of various fears. For the first time since the advent of telephones, people discussed whether these machines can be used to communicate with the dead . Today, people are nervous about smartphones. (Do they make us stupid ? Lazy ? Narcissistic ? Antisocial ?)

Three decades ago, “computerophobia” blossomed violently on the pages of magazines, newspapers, computer literacy manuals, in psychological research and advertising materials. “Who knows, maybe even the biggest computer phobia in your company will now be inspired to use a PC,” saysThe 1986 ad from IBM's Gem software ad, an interface for those who were scared by the more complex text terminal of the DOS operating system. Here's how Google tracks references to the term “computerophobia” in books over a 65-year period.



What people still didn't understand in the 1980s was that learning a computer “is more like mastering a musical instrument than following instructions from an electric device like a toaster,” wrote Paul Strassmann in 1985's Information Payoff. (Toasters are mentioned surprisingly often in the first discourse about personal computers: “Computers can't make a toast or vacuum the carpet,” wrote the author of the 1983 Personal Computing article in a computerophobia article). The same article mentions many fears that form this phobia: fear of breaking a computer, fear of losing electricity, fear of looking like a fool, and fear of losing control. “Perhaps we were made to believe that everyone who lacks keen interest and a desire to use a personal computer should be sick,”

Some articles on computerophobia offered tips on how to deal with it. “The main thing to remember about computerophobia is that it is a natural reaction to something unfamiliar,” said Charles Rubin. - If you are trying to use a PC or are considering such an opportunity, remember: you need to allow yourself to be a little ignorant at first. Take the time to learn; give the computer a chance to show itself before giving up on it; solve tasks gradually; Be sure to carefully read the documentation. and last but not least, you’re the boss here, not the computer. ”

In 1985, The New York Times offered to show instructional videos about computers on TV - a less scary screen than a computer monitor, for those who are used to televisions but new to computers. (Unlike the more common interactive computer programs on floppy disks, these lessons with more familiar video accompaniment will help make personal computers more comfortable as a common occurrence, ”the newspaper advised ).

For others, computerophobia manifested itself not so much in fear as in apathy. The Word text editor was not very intimidating, but very boring. New York magazine wrotein 1986: "If the new text editors were planning to save people from computerophobia ... then the companies that released them forgot one important ingredient - fun ... They are like childish clumsy training bikes in a world full of sexy Japanese motorcycles."

“Computerophobia” did not disappear as a phenomenon until the 1990s, when a new target appeared that engendered fear in society: cyberspace. Another word that sounds incredibly old-fashioned today, but at first it was futuristic enough to scare some people.