Computer Anxiety
May 6, 2005 6:45 AM Subscribe
I find it incredibly difficult to get myself to learn new things on the computer, and it would be very useful for me if I could get rid of that high threshhold. I don't have a problem with using the knowledge I've already got.
I'm interested in any personal stories or book recommendations about getting past that anxiety, and also in stories about getting over other sorts of cognitive anxiety.
I could be mistaken, but I think there's a difference between getting over a phobia of something that's the same every time and needing to be calm enough to think.
It would be great if I'd just get to ftping so I could work on my website and set up a scanner so I could add visual images and start selling t-shirts.
It would be great if I'd just get to ftping so I could work on my website and set up a scanner so I could add visual images and start selling t-shirts.
I find (as an IT manager) the biggest problem that drives people away from computers is poor typing skills. No one wants to spend 15 minutes on a PC typing a couple of sentences. I highly recommend a typing course.
posted by krisjohn at 7:36 AM on May 6, 2005
posted by krisjohn at 7:36 AM on May 6, 2005
My only qualification for answering this is that I'm another self-teaching computer user. You might want to consider setting up another machine just for playing on; I find my anxiety massively reduced when I know that the only thing I can break while experimenting is a machine I don't need for anything else.
posted by Gamecat at 9:14 AM on May 6, 2005
posted by Gamecat at 9:14 AM on May 6, 2005
Judging by the last part of your question, Nancy, I can see that I have much more computer knowledge than you, yet I still feel like I can relate to your problem.
I make a living fixing computers and solving computer problems yet I still have things I can't crack or approach, like programming or advanced linux stuff, for example. Sometimes I wish I would just get it, you know?
But I found that if I look back one year at what I thought was impossible back then, I realize that I have advanced a whole lot. For an extra boost, I look back two years. Things that I thought were way too much for me then are things that are so easy now that I don't even have to think about them.
It looks like you need a little boost. You have all this dry kindling, now all you need is a flame to get it all burning. I recommend that you invite a knowledgable, patient computer friend over for a really nice dinner and have them explain it to you. Then resolve to bother him as little as possible so that you take the steps to learn something yourself rather than simply picking up the phone and asking your friend how it's done.
Trust me, in a year, you will feel so powerful.
Good luck!
posted by redteam at 9:21 AM on May 6, 2005
I make a living fixing computers and solving computer problems yet I still have things I can't crack or approach, like programming or advanced linux stuff, for example. Sometimes I wish I would just get it, you know?
But I found that if I look back one year at what I thought was impossible back then, I realize that I have advanced a whole lot. For an extra boost, I look back two years. Things that I thought were way too much for me then are things that are so easy now that I don't even have to think about them.
It looks like you need a little boost. You have all this dry kindling, now all you need is a flame to get it all burning. I recommend that you invite a knowledgable, patient computer friend over for a really nice dinner and have them explain it to you. Then resolve to bother him as little as possible so that you take the steps to learn something yourself rather than simply picking up the phone and asking your friend how it's done.
Trust me, in a year, you will feel so powerful.
Good luck!
posted by redteam at 9:21 AM on May 6, 2005
I second the find a helpful friend recommendation. I'm going through "cognitive anxiety" problems myself. I can't get myself calm enough to return to my graduate work (which I've been removed from for over a year now). I may very well have to quit if I do not get over this hurdle.
I find my dad, who is computer illiterate, works much better with me around. I give him directions and he is willing to try things so long as I'm around to call on if something goes wrong. Next step is to get him to read on his own and figure out new things without my intervention (but in my presence).
I think having someone around who is also working on something (perhaps something that you are an expert in) and to whom you can turn if you get stuck or if you just need moral support (even someone to merely bitch to by turning in your chair and saying "arragh this sucks!") makes a big difference when you are unnerved by anxiety.
I'd love to hear more recommendations on how to deal with this particular kind of anxiety head on, and on readings about the underlying psychology. But my own simple recommendation is to try a mutually supportive "let's work together on our respective projects" arrangement with a friend.
posted by crack at 10:30 AM on May 6, 2005
I find my dad, who is computer illiterate, works much better with me around. I give him directions and he is willing to try things so long as I'm around to call on if something goes wrong. Next step is to get him to read on his own and figure out new things without my intervention (but in my presence).
I think having someone around who is also working on something (perhaps something that you are an expert in) and to whom you can turn if you get stuck or if you just need moral support (even someone to merely bitch to by turning in your chair and saying "arragh this sucks!") makes a big difference when you are unnerved by anxiety.
I'd love to hear more recommendations on how to deal with this particular kind of anxiety head on, and on readings about the underlying psychology. But my own simple recommendation is to try a mutually supportive "let's work together on our respective projects" arrangement with a friend.
posted by crack at 10:30 AM on May 6, 2005
Not sure if I'm reading your question correctly, but I start by reassuring myself with backups. I can then fiddle with anything safe in the knowledge that I can't break anything because it's backed up. And through fiddling, I can't help but gain some familiarity and hopefully learn the thought process behind the task/app, which is key. Once you know the intended thought process, then you can predict how a task might be intended to be done, and bang around until you find indicators that confirm your guesses, rather than look up the task and try to learn it by studying the explanation. (Looking it help definitely has it's place, but I find the freedom to just wade in there and bang stuff around until you make some progress, safe in the knowledge you can't actually really break anything while banging around, is an equally useful approach. And liberating.
posted by -harlequin- at 5:02 PM on May 6, 2005
posted by -harlequin- at 5:02 PM on May 6, 2005
Your mileage may vary, but personally, I've found that there's a strong benefit to playing around with an application without any particular goal in mind.
Take photoshop for instance. I think you can learn a lot more by asking yourself a question like "What does toggling the blending mode to each of the possible settings do?" than by asking something like "I want to do x, what do I have to do to get the application to do that?" The benefit is twofold:
1) The first question has the benefit that you don't need to know anything beforehand, you change the setting and it does what it does. For the second question however, you may well become frustrated (without outside reference/help) because you can change a setting and it may not advance you at all towards x. Where outside help is concerned (a tutorial, a more knowledgable friend), personally I find I learn better if I can figure things out for myself.
2) If the answer to the second question involves changing the blending mode, chances are it only involves using one of the 17 possible settings. So you only learn what that one setting does. The first question has the benefit that by the time you've answered it, you have some sense of what each of the other 16 possible settings do as well.
posted by juv3nal at 11:48 PM on May 6, 2005
Take photoshop for instance. I think you can learn a lot more by asking yourself a question like "What does toggling the blending mode to each of the possible settings do?" than by asking something like "I want to do x, what do I have to do to get the application to do that?" The benefit is twofold:
1) The first question has the benefit that you don't need to know anything beforehand, you change the setting and it does what it does. For the second question however, you may well become frustrated (without outside reference/help) because you can change a setting and it may not advance you at all towards x. Where outside help is concerned (a tutorial, a more knowledgable friend), personally I find I learn better if I can figure things out for myself.
2) If the answer to the second question involves changing the blending mode, chances are it only involves using one of the 17 possible settings. So you only learn what that one setting does. The first question has the benefit that by the time you've answered it, you have some sense of what each of the other 16 possible settings do as well.
posted by juv3nal at 11:48 PM on May 6, 2005
Response by poster: Thanks, everybody.
Unfortunately, my easiest learning mode seems to be a lot of repetition in a very low stakes environment. After a while, I notice patterns and ways to make improvements. This works pretty well for calligraphy and t'ai chi, but less well for learning something new.
I don't think I romaticize the machine exactly--but I probably read too much user-hatred from tech support folks too early on. As a result, it's tempting to feel that I'm inferior for not already knowing this stuff/not learning it easily.
In re not realizing that some apps are just poorly designed: see
Eric Raymond's essay about adding a printer to a small Unix network, and his
follow-up--the follow-up has a fair number of people (not just newbies) who thought there was something wrong with them for having trouble with CUPS.
The out-of-practice with learning thing is certainly relevent.
I also need to convince myself that small goals are ok. I think part of what happens is that, instead of thinking "If I get the scanner working (or get another scanner), I can put a few images on my web-site", I think "If I can do images, I need to put up thousands of images of buttons and bumper-stickers and then keep them updated", and then I think "wouldn't it be more pleasant to check livejournal again?"
My typing as at least adequate--I don't think it's the problem.
No, I don't think it's all hopeless--I'm going to try some small tweakage on my site today.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 7:17 AM on May 8, 2005
Unfortunately, my easiest learning mode seems to be a lot of repetition in a very low stakes environment. After a while, I notice patterns and ways to make improvements. This works pretty well for calligraphy and t'ai chi, but less well for learning something new.
I don't think I romaticize the machine exactly--but I probably read too much user-hatred from tech support folks too early on. As a result, it's tempting to feel that I'm inferior for not already knowing this stuff/not learning it easily.
In re not realizing that some apps are just poorly designed: see
Eric Raymond's essay about adding a printer to a small Unix network, and his
follow-up--the follow-up has a fair number of people (not just newbies) who thought there was something wrong with them for having trouble with CUPS.
The out-of-practice with learning thing is certainly relevent.
I also need to convince myself that small goals are ok. I think part of what happens is that, instead of thinking "If I get the scanner working (or get another scanner), I can put a few images on my web-site", I think "If I can do images, I need to put up thousands of images of buttons and bumper-stickers and then keep them updated", and then I think "wouldn't it be more pleasant to check livejournal again?"
My typing as at least adequate--I don't think it's the problem.
No, I don't think it's all hopeless--I'm going to try some small tweakage on my site today.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 7:17 AM on May 8, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
First of all, if you want to learn a computer topic, you're living in an awesome time as-far-as materials go. For almost every major application, there are TONS of learning options: books, courses, DVDs, online training... Check out sites like lynda.com and totaltraining.com.
Think about how YOU learn best. From books? Then get a book. From another person sitting next to you? Then take a course. At your own pace (but not from a book), then get a video.
Many people I train are hung up because they're trying to learn an application, but they don't know the basics of how their computer works. For instance, they're trying to learn Photohshop, but they're clueless about how to save a file (folders? drives? save? save as?).
Most books and classes are about specific applications. They assume people already understand the basics. But most people don't, and it holds them back. It's sad, because you can learn the basics in about an hour. So get "Introduction to the PC" or "MACs for Dummies" or whatever, and just read through the chapter on file management.
In my experience, a lot of computer phobia stems from romanticizing the machine. We all have a ton of baggage from bad sci-fi movies (even if we aren't sci-fi fans -- this stuff permeates the culture): computers that want to take away your job, computers that want to take over the world, etc. We all have heard computers praised or damned by pundits, techno-savvy friends, etc.
But computers are just machines. They don't have brains. They are just like cars, toasters, radios, etc. If we fear them, it's either because we think they're something they're not -- or because we're using them as metaphors for something else in our lives.
[Sometimes computers are splendid machines, but they (or certain applications running on them) can be poorly designed and frustrating. Unfortunately, I know many teachers who refuse to admit this. If a student is struggling with a poorly-desined feature, they make the student feel as if SHE is poorly designed. I regularly say things like, "Yeah, that's a sucky feature. They should have designed that better." Look for a teacher who doesn't deify machines!]
Okay: now the hard part. To be honest, I generally find that adults have a hard time learning computer subjects because they are unwilling to do the work. When we were kids in school, we had to study, do homework, memorize stuff, etc. Yet most adults seem to think that they should be able to come a two-day class and just GET it. Why should that be so?
We want it to be so, because studying isn't fun. And we're out of practice doing it. But most complex applications demand study.
I know Photoshop on an expert level, and people watch me and shake my head and say, "you must be so smart to have figured all that out." Wrong. I just worked really really really hard. I own about ten Photoshop books, which I've read cover-to-cover. I even read the manual that comes with the program (which WASN'T fun. I'm not one of those people who enjoys reading manuals -- BUT I DID IT ANYWAY). I took a couple of classes. I watched a training video. And I spent time on a lot of Photoshop-related websites. In other words, I did the kind of work a college student does when he's studying for a big test or writing a thesis paper.
[I also wrote all the keyboard shortcuts on index cards and quizzed myself with them until I had them memorized. People ask me how I remember all the shortcuts. THATS how I rememeber them. I MEMORIZED them the hard way -- the only way.]
Now, a lot of this was fun (I was making pictures while I was learning), but a lot of it wasn't. But I just forced myself to do it.
Finally, I'd ask you if it's really a computer issue. A lot of grownups that I know simply don't learn ANYTHING new once they graduate from college. What COMPLEX thing have you learned recently? Have you taught yourself a foreign language? Learned to play a musical instrument? Taught yourself how to cook Tai Food?
Are you simply out-of-practice (and scared of) learning?
I was like this when I was about 30. I actually feared I couldn't learn anything new. But I kept trying to learn by flipping through a book or listening to a single lecture. Then I HAD to master something for a job, and I wound up doing some serious studying (which I hated), but once I was finished, I had mastered the subject. And I was so thrilled that I COULD still learn. And since then I've been continually learning and studying. It's my favorite thing to do!
One CAN get out-of-practice at learning, but the good news is that the methods and materials to learn are there for the taking -- if you're willing to do the work!
posted by grumblebee at 7:34 AM on May 6, 2005 [1 favorite]