CNN Financial News

DIGITAL JAM, October 29, 1997

STEVE YOUNG, CNNfn ANCHOR, DIGITAL JAM: Technology is a huge part of American life. Cell phones fixed to people's ears, the Internet at their fingertips. But what's the price we pay for all this technology? One self proclaimed techno-therapist says it affects our bodies and minds in a profound way. Her name is Michelle Weil. She's written a book about it called " TechnoStress" .

Michelle, welcome to DIGITAL JAM.

MICHELLE WEIL, CO-AUTHOR, " TECHNOSTRESS" : Thank you for having me.

YOUNG: TechnoStress. How long has this been a part of our lives?

WEIL: Well I think technostress has been growing rapidly over the last 10 to 15 years as technology has become much more pervasive current and is being created so rapidly now and introduced. At times when we least expect it, we bump into a new technological innovation. And the surprise factor alone is enough to create technostress for some.

YOUNG: I was saying to Howard Lincoln of Nintendo a couple of minutes ago that we did DIGITAL JAM from the Electronic Entertainment Expo and were subjected to incredible noise which was like psychological warfare. Is that part of what you're calling technostress?

WEIL: Part of technostress is the noise that comes with technology. If you just think of the pagers, the cell phones, the fax machines. The beeps and the buzzes and the lights that are around us today. Physiologically we're interrupted, we're stimulated and we're on edge, just because it's all around.

YOUNG: Well what do we do?

WEIL: Well part of what we can do is set limits with technology. I'm a firm believer in technology and I believe technology is an excellent tool. But I do believe we need to set limits and use technology in the same way that we make other choices. Choose what works for you and don't feel intimated or feel bad that you don't have every gadget and every gizmo available.

YOUNG: I've been seeing more and more comments about the number of times a day the average person of business is interrupted by e-mails on the screen or phones and so forth. You would what, build up a moat around yourself?

WEIL: Well that information overload is truly part of what happens when you can be accessed so many different ways. The faxes pile up. The e-mails pile up. The voicemails pile up. Cell phones are ringing. Your pager is going off. Part of what I believe you need to do is give people clear information about how to best access you and when to use which modalities. Some people clearly prefer e-mail. Some would rather you don't e-mail them and only page them in an emergency. And I believe we have to instruct people today, how to use these different choices wisely with each of us.

YOUNG: I know somebody who's got 350 unanswered e-mails. Would you say he's technostressed out?

WEIL: Well what is he doing with those e-mails, just saving them for a rainy day?

YOUNG: I'm not really sure. What do you recommend he do?

WEIL: Well one of the things again is he might want to start to use a filtering system that tells people when to e-mail him, when not to e-mail him. Of if he's got that many backlogged, he might need somebody to come in and assist him in sorting through the important ones.

YOUNG: I remember in the discussion of software, months ago, people talking about using mutual user domain muds(ph) and moos(ph) on the Internet to sort of let people know through your avatar(ph) or character, I'm doing a project. I can't take time out now. Is that kind of strategy useful or is that just for high-end geeks?

WEIL: Well limit setting is always a useful strategy regardless. Some people are putting recordings on their home answering machines that say "hello, you've reached John Smith at da, da, da. Please don't call between 6 and 7:30 pm because I'm having dinner with my family. Leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can". These kinds of limit setting strategies are very effective in letting people know how to get you and when not to get you.

YOUNG: We're still not now talking about fear of computer czar, we were talking about multiple gizmos.

WEIL: It is not just about computers any longer. Since technology is everywhere and it's unavoidable, it's really anywhere that we walk around in society, you're bumping into a technological gadget. People who are technologically comfortable are feeling technostress often times by the amount of e-mail they're getting, the amount of time their boundaries are being invaded. People who aren't being - who aren't technologized, often times are feeling intimidated and inferior because they're not. So technostress abounds all across the board.

YOUNG: OK. Well good luck with the book. Thanks for stopping by. I think I'll turn this computer off right now.

WEIL: Thank you (OFF-MIKE).

YOUNG: Michelle Weil, co-author of " Technostress" .

Reprinted from Nexis.