Conclusions

Over the past 25 years, computers have been a part of our lives in some way or another, from programming our VCR's, alarm clocks, operating the automated bank teller machine to typing correspondence, sending e-mail and fax messages or programming and making our morning coffee. Computer technology continues to play an important role in education, in business and in our personal lives. The impact of computer technology and the change it has brought about is compared to the change occasioned by the industrial revolution. Computer technology and the competition it has created, have placed pressures on everyone to interact with computers. These pressures have brought about fears, frustrations leading to computer anxiety. Increasing knowledge about computer technology, is a way to overcome the phenomenon of computer anxiety. Being aware of the variables connected with it is a step towards alleviating the fears associated with computer use. Demographic variables such as gender or age have been studied and produced mixed results as have other variables for example, the relationship between math anxiety and computer anxiety. Because these variables interact so closely with other factors such as experience and attitude, it is difficult to draw conclusions regarding the influence each has on the manifestation of computer anxiety. Research on the phenomenon of computer anxiety and the variables associated with it is best described by Moldafsky who says that "The only consistency is inconsistency" (Moldafsky, 1994, p. 318). Results of studies are inconclusive and no one cause emerges as the culprit in the phenomenon of computer anxiety.