Aspie Technophobe - Is this an Oxymoron?

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anthonyfremont
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10 May 2012, 5:19 pm

I have about 99% of the Aspie traits, but on what appears to be one of the most prevalent ones - affinity for computers and technology - I am the polar opposite; I'm a technophobe and a Luddite. To me a book is to a Kindle what food is to a food pill. I would be interested in knowing whether there are any other high functioning autistic technophobes out there, or whether you all think this excludes the diagnosis.



ghostar
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10 May 2012, 5:34 pm

I am a high functioning Aspie and fairly technophobic. My situation is double ironic since I work as an engineer.



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10 May 2012, 5:47 pm

anthonyfremont wrote:
I have about 99% of the Aspie traits, but on what appears to be one of the most prevalent ones - affinity for computers and technology - I am the polar opposite; I'm a technophobe and a Luddite. To me a book is to a Kindle what food is to a food pill. I would be interested in knowing whether there are any other high functioning autistic technophobes out there, or whether you all think this excludes the diagnosis.


Aspie refers to how the brain is wired, not what tasks we put it to or what data we load on it.

btw, my favorite wall covering is floor to ceiling bookcases overloaded with as many books as can be squeezed in, but I love my kindle! The first time I was sent out of town I took about a half a dozen books and that was roughing it! Last time I had the Kindle app loaded on a netbook and had a fair chunk of my library (almost all of books purchased in the past several years) at my fingertips. I have the old K1 -- the original white kindle. It really does "disappear" once you get into the book. The latest ones look to be far better than my old one.



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10 May 2012, 5:51 pm

It's not a symptom of the disorder AS/autism, it's simply a trait that's supposedly observed somewhat often in people who also happen to have AS.

I imagine there might be correlation considering that youths and adults with AS are pushed into the direction by parent, teachers and job opportunities for people with AS supported by the government but I doubt the correlation is as naturally strong and prevalent in autistic people with speech as some official claims make it out to be.

Besides, people in countries where computers and technology play only minor roles in everyday life still have forms of autism as did our grandparents and likely lots of generations before them when technology was still only a remote concept of what it is today.

Now, I imagine the correlation between having a form of autism and taking "stuff" apart into details and having "an eye" or pronounced interest for details in processes that encompass several straight, repetitive and/or ever the same steps is far more definite. The infamous association between AS and IT/technology might derive from that, perhaps?


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Callista
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10 May 2012, 5:58 pm

Hehe... well, lemme put it this way: My mom's as Aspie as they come, and she's so clumsy about computers that my sister has had to do a lot of her computer stuff for her. The catch? My sister started doing this at age four. My sister's smart, but only a couple of years ahead of her peers--she's not a prodigy or anything! I remember Mom learning how to double-click a mouse... :roll:

Not to say Mom's incompetent or anything. She can sew a dress, plant a garden, diaper a kid in her sleep--but she's just not a techy person. Sometimes I think if I popped her into a time machine to two hundred years ago, she'd fit right in and hardly notice.


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10 May 2012, 6:18 pm

I'm not good with computers at all. That's what I have kids for. ;-)


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Dylanperr
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15 Jul 2018, 2:07 pm

Yes it is because I am a moderate functioning Autistic I am a very tech savy person. I like transhumanism to because it is like science fiction technology.



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15 Jul 2018, 2:15 pm

It’s not an oxymoron just because you happen to be good with it. I’m horrible with it and don’t even know how to begin getting better at it. My mom is better at it than I am.



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15 Jul 2018, 3:29 pm

I hate phones. I avoid them as far as I can get away with and I don't have a cell phone.
Also laptops are too portable and I'm just not interested in most technology.
Computers I like, though. Those are solid and dependable and useful and I can set them up to my preferences in a couple of days.
Like I did a few days ago, with the new computer I built.
I say "I built," but mostly my brother did it, with a friend to advise via webcam.
Still, the matter was very stressful to me. Messing with fancy electronics.
I even get nervous when I change a lightbulb and I turn my back to it when I flip it on.
It's not that I don't understand technology. I understand it better than a lot of people. (Though maybe average for my generation.) And I know I can handle it. I just...would rather not.


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15 Jul 2018, 4:31 pm

I don't know if you call this of me being a "technophobe", but I'm a skeptic. I still enjoy using tech like computers, but I have more of a philosophical skepticism about the danger or downsides it can cause in society. And there is still a lot to be said about the old ways that people used to do things.



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15 Jul 2018, 7:22 pm

I took a course to learn computer repair bur I barely understood any of it. I'm not that great with computer & other technology compared to the average Aspie. That doesn't mean I don't have Aspergers thou cuz having a special skill/talent with technology is not a requirement.


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16 Jul 2018, 1:46 am

Bieng technically proficient is not a diagnostic criteria for Aspergers.


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16 Jul 2018, 8:43 am

I'm not tech savvy at all. I use the computer to type and look up things on the Internet.



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17 Jul 2018, 9:33 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Bieng technically proficient is not a diagnostic criteria for Aspergers.

...and not even diagnostic of technophilia. I have been a programmer since my early teens, and have worked authoring technical manuals for hi-tech equipment, but I still have no desire for a television, smart-phone, e-book reader, or Facebook/Twitter etc. If I feel that a new technology might improve my quality of life, I will check it out, otherwise I'm unlikely to be interested. In that sense, the "luddite" part of my username is accurate (the original Luddites feared loss of income and reduced independence and quality of life, not new industrial technology per se.)


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kraftiekortie
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17 Jul 2018, 9:35 am

I'm not a "technophobe." I'm just not proficient in "technology."

My smartphone has been a useful resource for me. I would have been late on many bills had I not had my smartphone.



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17 Jul 2018, 2:35 pm

The problem with technology is that it changes so quickly, usually by the time you're used to it, and coping with change is a struggle for many autistic people.

It's supposed to make our lives easier and more comfortable, but most of the time it makes everything more complicated and annoying.

NT people have lost their jobs due to changes in technology, and autistic people are lucky if they're employed at all. :(

And when you get older, it gets even harder to cope with all the changes.