FEAR IS A COWARD

The journey to success in any endeavor requires a willingness to fail, but a drive to persevere no matter what. This is the attitude one must take in order to achieve success in learning the internet. I was a technophobic before I took a class on learning the internet during the summer of 1996. In fact, I wasn't aware that the class was a class on learning how to use computers. Imagine the shock I experienced when I discovered it was a class based on learning through the internet. I almost had an anxiety attack!!! I considered dropping the course, but decided that I had to face my fears someday, so I stuck with it. The lesson I learned was that if you confront fear, fear will run like a coward. The following literature will cover the experiences of students of past generations in the confrontation of their fears on learning the internet. Hopefully, your newfound knowledge of the learning process will help to alleviate or minimize your technophobic fears.

Back to the Top

IGNORANCE IS DANGEROUS

The stubbornness to hold on to one's own point of view and beliefs causes one to have a closed mind. This means that one has limited his growth as a human being by limiting the expansion of his mind, thereby, inviting ignorance to be a problem or a limitation to the options one has in life. The first stage in acquiring the knowledge to be functional on the internet requires one to have the desire to overcome his ignorance by having an open mind and a desire to gain more knowledge. Most of us have had no previous experience on the internet when we signed up for this course, so whether we signed up for a requirement or for an interest in this area, we are expanding our minds to overcome the ignorance we have about the internet. Christy Forsythe (G3a) exemplifies the results one may get by overcoming their ignorance, she says, "When I first heard that we were going to have to go online, I thought to myself, 'Oh, dear!' I thought the internet was the most confusing place to be and thought that people only went online to chat with other people who had nothing better to do. When we were forced to browse the web, I realized that it wasn't as confusing as I expected it to be, and in fact was quite fascinated by it."Rochelle Tactacan (G2) expresses her gratitude for overcoming her ignorance, " I have no experience with the internet before taking Psychology 459, so I am kind of shock when the instructor told us that we would all publish our reports on the WWW. But, thank goodness to my fellow classmates and especially to my instructor, they have widen my horizon to get to the latest technology of communication, The Internet." If Rochelle did not sign up for this course and stick it out, she would have been another ignorant technophobic who would be limited to the physical world, thereby, denying herself the opportunity to be a part of a cybercommunity in virtual reality.

Angie Inouye (G3) takes on a strong attitude in overcoming her ignorance, she states, "From the first week of school, I was ready to drop out of my two major courses. I thought long and hard about the consequences and came to this...I am not going to be, or want to be a "Loser". I am ready to risk what ever it takes to get through this semester." If you have this kind of conviction, failure would not be an option and only success will come to you.

Back to the Top

ANXIETY AS AN ADVANTAGE

Anxiety is a very uncomfortable feeling that can be used as an advantage to motivate one to progress. It is a negative motivation because one must acquire the knowledge adequately and comfortably in order to get rid of it. It will be natural to experience anxiety when one faces a task that is unfamiliar or seemingly overwhelming. This anxiety will lead to frustration, which will then lead to a decision one must make. The decision is whether to use the anxiety constructively as a motivator or to use it as an excuse to digress or quit. Most students of past generations used it to motivate themselves as evidenced by the commendable completion of their projects.

Lori Morita (G2) describes her experience as a beginner, "The negative emotions were very strong. Specifically, the anxiety of completing the assignment and the feeling of incompetency were the overriding emotions. . . It was overwhelming. . . I had no idea how to begin; but after I did, and began tackling one task at a time, each moved into the other. Once one task was done (or was firmly begun--I wasn't too picky at the time), there was an enthusiasm for the others, and each sub-task became a natural progression. I was amazed that it seemed easier and easier, and I went faster and faster. I felt fascination, as though it were a labyrinth that never ended." Lori faced her anxiety by persisting at completing one task at a time. These little accomplishments gave her confidence and enthusiasm to complete more.

Another way to battle anxiety and move ahead is to use your classmates or peers as motivation. You don't want to be left in the dust!! Joleen Lai (G1) used this method to motivate her, she says that it was "very difficult and sort of discouraged me to go ahead and continue what I had to do. But, I'm also in Dr. James' Psy 459 class, Traffic Psychology, and two students completed their first Lab Report and they both got 1 extra credit. I would say that motivated me to get started and try to be on a steady pace, along with the rest of the class and not fall way behind."

Christina Keoloha (G2) explains, "When I first got on the internet, I felt confused and disoriented. I didn't understand what I was supposed to be doing and I felt a lot of anxiety . . . I also felt inadequate because I didn't know what was going on. So, to relieve my tension, I first did something that I am familiar with -- e-mail." Christina used her knowledge of the e-mail to calm her nerves and give her the confidence she needed to move on to the internet assignments. It's kind of like trying to use relaxation techniques so that your anxiety level is brought down so that your functionality gives productive results.

Anthony Chung (G3a) overcame his anxiety by using someone else, he explains, "Things was all a big confusion to me. But the one thing that I have learned very well in this class is to ask for help. I wasted a lot of time just sitting in front of the computer screen because I was afraid to ask for help. I was afraid as a result of feeling like you are the only one in the whole room who doesn't know what the hell you are doing (pardon my language). You may realize how simple things may turn out to be when someone shows you how to it is done. I would put this as Rule #1 in my book." Anxiety and fear can be alleviated immediately when you submit yourself to the teaching of someone who has succeeded in the task you are trying to accomplish.

Back to the Top

LEARNING TO TRUST

One of the factors essential to achieving success in adapting to the internet is to learn to trust the computer. I am not saying that you should put 100% blind faith in the computer, but you should have enough trust that the computer does not hinder your progress. Initially you may face some fears about the reliability of computers, but eventually the computer will earn your trust (hopefully).

Joleen Lai (G1) expresses her initial fears about the computer, "I remembered when Dr. James said to 'go anywhere, do anything' and nothing will happen to the computer, it took me awhile to comprehend that advise. I was so afraid at first to hit any keys, fearing that I would delete something or can't get out of it." Joleen eventually overcame this paranoid fear and succeeded in her goals. Imagine if her mistrust persisted, she would never have been able to explore the internet, thereby, hindering her adaptation to the internet.

Calvin Cheung (G3) relates a terrible experience with a computer, "I'd do an hour worth of homework and all would be lost. I can hardly describe my anger at this thing called technology. I always had a technophobia when ever using computers, always thinking all my work would disappear at any moment. I felt scared and shaky always feeling like I was testing lady luck and racing against time. The frustration finally forced me to work at a computer lab where a couple of my friends worked . . . The technophobia due to getting cut off had some effect on my computer use behavior for at least two weeks in the labs before it wore off finally allowing me to feel safe." Although this incident would have been a reinforcer for the irrational belief that computers are not trustworthy, Calvin was able to recognize this as an isolated incident. He did not irrationally generalize this incident to all computers, but instead, he opted to do his computer work on campus. The computers on campus gave him confidence and he was able to trust computers enough to feel safe in doing his work.

The lesson here is to have enough trust in computers that it will not cause you unneeded stress or hinder your work. Although, incidents such as what happened to Calvin may come about, be sure to recognize this as the exception rather than the rule. By trusting the computer, your work and on the internet will be much more easier and smoother.

Another area of unneeded stress is learning to be patient. The added stress of being impatient will not help you in completing your assignments, so drop this habit. Christina Keoloha (G2) describes her bad habit, "Getting into Netscape, I felt very impatient because it took so long for the program to load up. After my initial anxiety subsided, impatience was the main source of my negative emotions . . . Every time I clicked on something, I had to wait for the computer to hook up with the host computer of what I was trying to get to. All this waiting time gave me a lot of negative emotions in that I constantly found myself feeling impatient." Why abuse yourself with negative emotions? Being impatient will not help the computer to load faster, chill out. Remember, patience is a virtue!!

Back to the Top

EXCITEMENT

After the initial struggles through negative emotions, doubt, frustration, and anxiety there comes a period of realization. You will begin to realize exactly what you are a part of in the generational curriculum. The power of your fingertips will be realized when you understand how much knowledge and information you have available to you. When this sinks in, you will feel overwhelmed initially, then you will become excited and fascinated to be a part of the generational curriculum. Ryan Yamauchi (G2) relates his fascination, "As far as being satisfied with the Internet and the computer, I think I am more amazed than anything. I find myself like a kid in a candy store, looking at everything in wonderment and basking in the newness of it all." Noreen Dorion (G3) tells of her feelings after realization, "My very first experience with Netscape was mind boggling. I was lost and confused. Getting into Netscape was intimidating. There seemed to be the endless sites to look through. I felt like a child with a new toy, but at the same I also felt like an ant standing in the middle of the superhighway. Both fear and excitement ran through me as I looked through the net." When you are able to transfer this excitement into the work you are producing, adapting to the internet will become an enjoyable process.

Back to the Top