Women’s “ick” for AI isn’t technophobia or a gap to close. It’s wisdom to act on.

Background: Digital health technologies increasingly support long-term stroke management and rehabilitation, but technophobia may hinder their acceptance and sustained use among older patients with stroke. Evidence in this population remains limited. Objective: This study aimed to examine the level, associated factors, and subjective experiences of technophobia toward digital health technologies among older patients with stroke, and inform targeted interventions. Methods: We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. In the quantitative phase, older patients with stroke were recruited by convenience sampling from a tertiary grade A hospital in Shanghai, China, between January 15, 2024, and January 2, 2025. Participants completed a general information questionnaire and the Chinese versions of the Technophobia Scale, the eHealth Literacy Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the Stroke Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Univariable, correlation, and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed. Qualitative participants were purposively selected from the quantitative sample using maximum variation sampling informed by quantitative findings. Semistructured interviews conducted between February 6 and April 30, 2025, were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to elucidate associated factors and their contextual manifestations. Results: Among 343 quantitative participants, the median technophobia score was 25.0 (IQR 22.0‐33.0). Multivariable linear regression showed lower technophobia scores among patients with monthly per capita household income of Renminbi (Chinese yuan; RMB) 5000-6999 (RMB 1=US $0.14 as of January 29, 2026) versus less than RMB 1000 (=−3.60, 95% CI −6.44 to −0.76; =.01) and among occasional versus never users of digital health technologies (=−3.98, 95% CI −6.94 to −1.03; =.008). Higher eHealth literacy (=−0.45, 95% CI −0.58 to −0.32;

Women’s “ick” for AI isn’t technophobia or a gap to close. It’s wisdom to act on.

ALT: Burt Ward as Retro Robin from Batman TV

European attitudes toward digital privacy and technology regulation are dismissed in the US as technophobia. But there are distinct, historically grounded reasons why Europe has moved further and…

By Brandon Engel Technophobia, defined by Merriam-Webster as a “fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices,” has been ...

European attitudes toward digital privacy and technology regulation are dismissed in the US as technophobia. But there are distinct, historically grounded reasons why Europe has moved further and…

European attitudes toward digital privacy and technology regulation are dismissed in the US as technophobia. But there are distinct, historically grounded reasons why Europe has moved further and fast...

European attitudes toward digital privacy and technology regulation are dismissed in the US as technophobia. But there are distinct, historically grounded reasons why Europe has moved further and faster to regulate Big Tech: There’s the memory of the surveillance states run by the Nazis and the Stassi, the absence of a European version of Silicon Valley (with all of the Valley’s financial clout in domestic politics), and a fundamentally different idea about what personal data is and what can legitimately be done with it. Any serious analysis of transatlantic technology policy means taking these issues into account—especially as the US begins to confront its own looming day of reckoning with the power of the platform.

European attitudes toward digital privacy and technology regulation are dismissed in the US as technophobia. But there are distinct, historically grounded reasons why Europe has moved further and…

Today’s tip: 5 Cures for Technophobia Just Use it–Be that teacher in your school who always tries whatever new gimmick the Tech Geeks come up with. Do it in private  before kids enter o…