I’ve seen movies and read stories about people, who believe technology will harm them physically. They think radio waves will cause brain damage, electricity will alter their cells, exposure to electromagnetic fields will cause cancer, or other horrible things might happen. Until now, though, I had never met somebody personally who suffers from technophobia.

That changed. My mother’s current live-in care taker definitely has some mental issues related to all things that run on electrical power. I got the first notion of something being “off” about the woman when I asked her for her phone number, so that I could stay in touch. She looked scared when she told me, that she doesn’t want to give out her number. “Bad things” might happen, when people call her. I assured her, that I would only call in case of some urgent matter.

A few days later she said she needed my help with a camera. I said “OK, what’s wrong with your camera?” She told me, that her mother had put this camera into her suitcase and she didn’t want it. She didn’t need a camera, it was dangerous to have a camera around with so many other electronic devices in the house. So I offered to keep the camera at my house while she was here, and then give it back to her on the day that she travels home. She looked relieved and said “I don’t want that camera back, just keep it. My mother gave it to me so that she doesn’t have to have it around.” I see, technophobia runs in the family. “That works too, give me the camera and I’ll dispose of it properly”, I replied.

With a certain haste the woman went outside and retrieved a package from behind one of my mom’s big trees. Aluminum foil, wrapped around a black plastic bag, inside of it an old camera – battery compartment empty, no memory card.