Technophobia is an overwhelming fear of technology by individuals who are supposed to use it to process information.
People with this syndrome fear computers, cellphones or the power of artificial intelligence. The condition is heightened amongst adults and people anxious about the future.
Studies have shown that technophobia is more than resistance to learning a new technology. People with the condition may obsess with technology, or sometimes go a great length to avoid incorporating technology in their lives.
With the changing trends in the employment sector, teachers must embrace technology as it is the key driver in teaching and learning in the ‘modern classroom’. Despite technology becoming a basic need to the Kenyan teacher, there still exist a good number of them who still feel that technology is an ‘unnecessary burden’.
In every teacher’s workshop, there is always a mention of the need to embrace technology. Teachers can however stamp their authority over technophobia. First, teachers can get engaged in exposure therapy. This entails familiarizing with the object of fear; in this case the computer or any technological device. Already, most teachers with technophobia have had this exposure through interaction with their smartphones.
Secondly, teachers should not fear reaching for help from their technosavvy colleagues. They will be helped to navigate through the rudimentary aspects of the technology. This will expedite their knowledge acquisition on technological platforms.
Teachers should also take their time and should not feel any pressure to learn technology. They should not feel any haste but know that learning is sequential and nothing can be learnt and be achieved within the shortest time.
It is also incumbent upon the tutors to learn and appreciating the fact that technology is the way, the current fashion and the only path that the world must travel as we navigate life.
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