TechnoStress: Coping with Technology @Work @Home @Play

ISBN: 0471177091

Author: Rosen, Larry D.

Condition: New

Are you Cyberphobic? Techno-crazed? If so, you're not alone . . ."If all the hype about the Information Superhighway makes you want to take the next exit off it, you may be one of a growing subpopulation -people who are cyberphobic." -Los Angeles Times"Technology has taken over, and there is only one way to stop it: take back control of your own life. Follow the suggestions in this book, and banish the TechnoStress from your life." -Donald A. Norman, Ph.D. Senior Technical Advisor, Hewlett-Packard author of Things That Make Us SmartNationally acclaimed Technotherapists Michelle Weil and Larry Rosen help you conquer your fears and frustrations. Among the helpful tips they offer . . .Slow DownPeople can't operate at the same speed as machines. "Rethink how you react to the new wizardry," says Larry Rosen. "Just because technology works at lightning speed does not mean you should."Stay Connected"Computer use can isolate people," says Michelle Weil. "In the electronic information age, it is particularly important not to rely solely on e-mail, faxes, and voicemail. Live communication enhances relationships."Modern technology was designed to empower us and set us free. So why do we often feel more like its slaves than its masters? From pagers to Web sites, e-mail to fax machines, each new "technohelper" places greater demands on us.If you've ever tried to juggle a steering wheel and a cell phone, or accidentally recorded an infomercial rather than the nightly news on your VCR -then you already know what TechnoStress feels like. In this, the first "must-have" book of the information age, psychologist Michelle Weil and educator Larry Rosen explain why technology makes people feel under the gun -and how to preserve your humanity and sanity in a digital world.The authors draw on their sixteen years of research into the psychology of technology to show exactly how technology affects our bodies and minds, and the impact it has on our lives at home, at work, and at play. The fascinating vignettes they offer explain why we feel we are losing control to technology, or being hopelessly left behind.But for all of the problems it identifies, TechnoStress is not another polemic against technology. In fact, the authors are proponents for technology. "Techno-therapist" Michelle Weil and researcher Larry Rosen have spent the past two decades showing people how to thrive in the age of high-tech. Rather than teaching you how to avoid technology, they show you how to make it work for you.The trick is to learn to make technology dance to your tune -not vice versa. Whether you are a technophobe or a technofan, you'll find the proven stress-reducers in this book insightful and empowering.