Technophobes are depressed, say scientists

TECHNOLOGY IS OVERWHELMING for some, according to research by scientists at Cambridge University, and one third of us are intimidated by it.

The research, which was sponsored by BT and carried out over a five month period, found that some people believe technology has trampled its way into people's lives and is ruining them by forcing a wedge between family members, and people and their own self confidence. These people would be the study's researchers. Also, some of the people they studied apparently seemed troubled by technology.

BT, which has selflessly produced some information about how to deal with this overwhelming tat, said that an inability to cope with technology often mirrored a larger problem with people's lives - that they were 'less satisfied' in general.

What this human poking has to do with BT is a mystery, until you remember what we just said, that BT sponsored this shocking research and coincidentally it just happens to have some advice on how to deal with the problem of feeling overwhelmed by technology in one's life.

So, if your life is spinning out of control then you should become the master of your own domains, and take what the firm called a "'five-a-day' Balanced Communications Diet to help families get the most out of communications".

"Importantly, the research revealed that technology itself is not the problem. Compare it to food. To stay healthy, you need to eat a balanced diet. The same is true when it comes to using technology; you need to find a balance which works for you," said Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT Retail without prompting.

"To help with this, we are launching the Balanced Communications Diet, our equivalent of the five a day you need to help maintain a healthy relationship with technology."

We haven't studied the diet because despite how hard we looked we couldn't find our patronising-repellent spray. However, we are confident that we can safely assume that point one is not, "Cancel your BT Openreach internet line." µ