When people feared computers (LaFrance, 2015)

In the early 1980s, the age of the personal computer had arrived and "computerphobia" was suddenly everywhere. Sufferers experienced "a range of resistances, fears, anxieties, and hostilities," according to the 1996 book Women and Computers. "These can take such forms as fear of physically touching the computer or of damaging it and what's inside it, a reluctance to read or talk about computers, feeling threatened by those who do know something about them, feeling that you can be replaced by a machine, become a slave to it, or feeling aggressive towards computers."

What some people didn't yet understand in the 1980s was that learning to use a computer was "much more like taking up a musical instrument than following instructions how to use an electrical appliance, such as a toaster," wrote Paul Strassmann in his 1985 book, Information Payoff. (Toasters come up surprisingly often in early coverage of personal computers: "Computers won't make toast or vacuum a carpet," wrote the author of a 1983 Personal Computing cover story about computerphobia.) The same article identified subsets of anxieties that contribute to the phobia: fear of breaking the computer, fear of losing power, fear of looking stupid, and fear of lacking control. "Perhaps we're led to believe that anyone who doesn't have a keen interest in and desire to use a personal computer must be sick," Personal Computing's Charles Rubin wrote.

Several publications devoted coverage to computerphobia, and offered tips for how to treat it. "The most important thing to remember about computerphobia is that it's a natural reaction to something unfamiliar," Rubin wrote. "If you're trying to use a personal computer or are considering using one, remember: Allow yourself to be a little ignorant for a while. Plan to spend some time learning; give the computer a chance to prove itself before you decide you can't use it; take things a step at a time; make sure you read the documentation carefully; and finally, don't forget that you're in charge, not the computer."