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By Michelle V. Rafter
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 24) -- Internet users, do any of the following describe you:
(A) At work, you set your e-mail program so it beeps when you have new mail, encouraging yourself to be interrupted.
(B) When you go on vacation, you take your laptop, cell phone, or pager, call in for voice-mail messages daily and check e-mail whenever you can.
(C) You've changed when you go to bed, or sleep less, so you can spend more time online.
If you said ''Yes'' to any of them, you're could be exhibiting signs of technostress.
The condition, which researchers define as the negative effect of technology on people's thoughts, attitudes, behavior or bodies, affects everyone to some extent because of the electronic devices present in our daily lives: televisions, ATMs, cellular phones, computers, microwaves, VCRs.
But Internet users are especially susceptible because of the stress evoked by their high expectations of technology, their dependence on it, pride in their computer gear and know-how, and all the waiting they do for connections to go through, e-mail programs to load and Web sites to download, according to the authors of a new book on the subject.
It may sound like a lot of hooey, but it isn't, claim Michelle M. Weil and Larry D. Rosen, authors of ''Technostress: Coping With Technology At Work, At Home, At Play'' (http://www.technostress.com).
''Everyone is experiencing it to one degree or another. It doesn't have to do with your level of technological savvy,'' said Weil, a clinical psychologist who with psychologist Rosen, is based in Orange, Calif.
Signs of technostress can be as subtle as losing your train of thought in a conversation, or as obvious as insomnia or lost productivity at work, the partners said.
People forget that while they can do more than one thing at a time, computers are much better at multitasking, so they begin to expect the same from themselves -- with harmful results.
Take, for example, someone who's waiting for a Web page to download, checking e-mail and writing a report using their word processing software at the same time, Rosen said.
''You're literally setting neurons firing in your brain, like an old telephone switchboard, one area for e-mail, another for what you're writing, a third for the Web page,'' he said. ''Your brain is built to function as a protective mechanism, cycling through all of those areas. As you get more areas going, you find yourself not being able to spend enough constant time working on any one of them. You spend a minute there, a couple seconds there.
''People can pull this off for a while, but (eventually) it diminishes their performance,'' he said. ''They wake up in the middle of the night and their brain is still firing all of those areas.''
With more people spending more time online, the problems associated with technostress -- including online addiction -- could get much worse, the researchers said.
''It's too small to track now, but technology addiction will grow,'' Weil said. ''The medium lends itself to a seductive experience. It's so multisensory, plus the fact that you're in an anonymous environment interacting with strangers and projecting onto them characteristics you want them to have.''
Weil and Rosen began researching technophobia in the early 1980s, work that led them to consult with company chief executives and others to help them alleviate computer fears. Along the way, they noticed how stressed those people became over their attitudes toward technology and the impact on their business that resulted. In consulting now, the partners concentrate on changing people's attitudes toward technology and emphasize the importance of proper training.
So how can an individual break the technostress cycle? Start by weaning yourself of the need to be available all of the time, the researcher said. Let people know the one best way to contact you -- email, phone, fax -- rather than barrage them with contact choices, Weil said.
If your Internet use has made you scatterbrained, practice concentrating on one task for as long as possible, and jot down the ways you allow yourself to be interrupted, Weil suggested. Breaking the habit might not take long ''if you stay conscious of your desire to shift,'' she said.
Remember how to do things the old-fashioned way, Rosen said.
''It's important to have a techno-crash emergency plan, but also know how to operate without technology in case you're challenged,'' he said.
Finally, don't equate your self-worth with how much your computer costs or how fast your Internet connection is. Such ''machine machismo'' thinking is ridiculous, Weil said.
''People shouldn't compare themselves to one another by virtue of their technology,'' she said. ''People should feel proud of whatever technology they have and feel fine about leaving the rest alone. It's OK if it takes you five seconds longer to dial up to your (Internet) server. What's the big deal about five seconds? Let's not let it become the equivalent of a wasted day.''
(Michelle V. Rafter writes about cyberspace and technology from Los Angeles. Reach her at mvrafter@deltanet.com. Opinions expressed in this column are her own.)
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