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第119次例會，2007年08月11日（週六）下午2:30~5:30
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
Time:
14:30 ~15:30 (Free Talks)
15:30~16:00(Speaker Session)
16:00~17:15 (Topic Discussion)
17:15~17:30 (Happy Time)
Host: Amy Kao
Assistant Host: Grace Lee
Topic: Beating technophobia
Source: Global Voice Magazine High-Intermediate January 2007 volume pages 4 - 6
At one extreme are the people who believe that technology will lead to some sort of doomsday, perhaps through nuclear warfare, AI or a biotechnology accident. Many others feel that the rapid growth of technology is having a negative effect on society. However, most technophobes – and there are countless millions – are people who simply do not like or trust new technology, especially computers.
Technophobia is nothing new. History tells us that many people refused to step on “staircases that moved” when the first escalators were built. I have to admit that my own father still always gets face-to-face service from a live teller and has never used an automated one. In the present age of technology, however, those who cannot move with the times suffer greater consequences than ever before. Some future-mined educators have even claimed that the worst thing a parent can do today is deny their young child a personal computer and internet access.
Unlike sufferers of the other phobias, technophobes aren’t going to start sweating and wheezing if they get too close to an iPod. However, they are plagued with strong feelings of anxiety and self-doubt, especially in the workplace. Computers and ever-changing software are the main objects of fear. They can make the average technophobe feel obsolete, and dependant on their more tech-savvy colleagues. In extreme cases, the serious technophobe is obsessed with worry over pushing the wrong button.
Not surprisingly, the great majority of technophobes are from the older generations. Given that non-electric typewriters and file cabinets were the norm when these people began their professional careers, it is understandable how many of them have become technophobes. They saw answering machines, word processors and fax machines arrive and perhaps felt sad to see them become useless after having mastered them.
Worse, however, is the common scenario today in which senior personnel are receiving training from tech experts in the company who are young enough to be their children or grandchildren. With this complete reversal of tradition, it is no small wonder that the older generation technophobe feels obsolete or even fearful of keeping their jobs. Despite all their experience, they struggle because the work environment has changed so much. Sadly, many of these older generation technophobes opt for early retirement.
However, even professionals who are young enough that they can’t remember a world without video games and the internet can feel overwhelmed with technology. There is a new business buzzword today called “techno-stress,” which is related to just working too much with technology. Many professionals, old and young, complain that half their day seems to focus on clearing an ever-present influx of e-mails and voice mails. Others complain that office technology has eliminated the need for them to ever budge from their desks, which creates muscle cramps and more stress.
Although many technophobes have learned to hate the word “information,” It is precisely what they need to get past their fears. There has been plenty of academic research on technophobia published, but the best solution is very simple. The most successful and common programs for helping technophobes in the U.K. and the U.S. are simply computer classes that are open only to specific age groups.
Such peer group classes put older generation technophobes at ease because they won’t feel patronized by anyone – especially the uppity kid in the office. Ideally, even the class instructor is of the same age, which sends the positive message that anyone can master office technology.
Vocabulary:
1. doomsday 世界末日 2. escalator 電扶梯 3. teller 銀行出納員 4. automated自動化
5. phobia 恐懼症 6. wheeze 發出氣喘聲 7. anxiety 焦慮 8. obsolete 過時的
9. scenario 局面 10. reversal 逆轉 11. overwhelmed 使不知所措的 12. buzzword 行話
13. influx 湧進 14. budge 移動
Phrases:
1. with the times 入時 2. plagued with 使苦惱 3. dependant on 仰賴 4. obsessed with 對…著迷
5. file cabinet 檔案櫃 6. answering machine電話答錄機 7. word processor 文字處理機 8. no small wonder 難怪
9. opt for 選擇 10. muscle cramp 肌肉抽筋
Questions:
1. Do you consider yourself to be a technophobe (科技恐懼者), technophile (科技愛好者) or somewhere in between?
2. What benefits and problems will increasing technology bring in the future? Is a technological doomsday very likely?
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台北，每週六 (2005年6月起)
Taipei, Saturday, Weekly
from June, 2005
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
高雄，每月最後一個週日 (2007年4月起)
Kaohsiung, Final Sunday, Monthly
from April, 2007
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
20070811, Speaker--Allen Ho
20070811, Game conductor--Sakura Huang
20070811, Birthday Celebration--Amy Kao
20070811, Gathering and Feedback
20070811, Saturday Dinner
