Is there a word for someone who hates computers?
If a computerphile loves computers then is there a word for someone who hates them? I've been trying to think how the prefix 'miso' might be used, e.g. misogynist vs philogynist, but haven't come up with anything.
"Phobia" means "fear" and implies an irrationality that I would like to avoid. The word I'm looking for would mean a strong but perfectly rational dislike of computers and/or computer culture.
I don't feel like a sample sentence is really helpful here but the tag says it's a requirement, so here you go:
"How do you feel about computers?"
"I'm a staunch ______."
NB: The word I'm looking for would be similar to "misogynist" only directed toward computers, the Internet and/or Internet culture rather than women.
Solution 1:
One of the issues with hate is that its cause is often a lack: of knowledge, of understanding, of self-confidence.
With a close friend of mine, we use in French the neologism "mal-computant" or malcomputant, to describe somebody with very low ability or confidence in computers/internet/geek culture, and who often hates "them all", generally with little knowledge on the topic ("I hate Facebook, I never had an account").
The prefix mal- means “bad,” “wrongful,” “ill” and is used in English for instance in malfunction, malcontent. The French term malvoyant means "lacking of the ability to see correctly". The English version points to "Low vision" which redirects to Visual Impairment. Since the -phobia suffix did not match well, I thus propose computer-impaired.
In a comment, technoluddite was proposed (from John ou Ned Ludd). However, the concept seems more akin to "a technologist that longs for a simpler life". Luddism, by itself, sometimes refers to people that opposes to novel technologies, or criticizes them. Some talk about neo-luddism. The OP does not seem to convey such an active meaning.
Upon comments again, referring to geek culture, rare occurrences of misogeekism or misonerdism exist. However, it is not clear whether it is a fear of nerds or geeks, or a fear of the geek-culture.
For the record, my initial proposals were:
Cyberphobic, from the second meaning of Cyberphobia (Wikipedia), since phobia may refer to hate or fear:
Cyberphobia is a concept introduced in 1985, described as a specific phobia expressed as "an irrational fear of or aversion to computers" or more generally, a fear and/or inability to learn about new technologies.
A related term is logizomechanophobia:
More than just sweating when needing to format an Excel spreadsheet, people who have Logizomechanophobia won't go near anything digital. Not computers, not ATM machines, not the kiosk at the airport - none of it. It's often caused by a traumatic event caused by electronics.
Solution 2:
Possibly "luddite" which means someone who is opposed to all modern technology.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Luddite
- one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying labor saving machinery as a protest;
- broadly : one who is opposed to especially technological change
Often it's used to describe people who aren't opposed to modern technology, but just don't understand it (and don't really want to bother learning how to).
Solution 3:
I thought we were going to have to coin this word, but it turns out it already exists at Merriam-Webster:
computerphobe: a person who experiences anxiety about computers and especially about their use
And also at the Free Dictionary:
computerphobia (kəmˈpjuːtəˌfəʊbɪə) n the fear or dislike of computers