How to cope with cyberphobia.

Cyberspace, suite packages, virtual reality, the Internet - if what you feel after reading these terms is something along the lines of mild unease or even full-blown intimidation, you may be a victim of "cyberphobia." According to Andrew Denka, executive director of Office Team, a national administrative support staffing firm, many people today feel threated by the rapid proliferation of on-line information resources, new computer programs, and other technological advances.

Many of these resources were almost unknown a few years ago, and now they're being discussed, written about, and used everywhere. Some employees are overwhelmed by all the new technology; they feel they should understand it, but don't know where to begin. Administrative professionals in particular feel they should be on top of these developments - doing research on-line, using one of the new suite packages to ease multi-tasked jobs such as combining spreadsheet information and word processing projects. But where should they start?"

What is the solution for those afflicted with cyberphobia? Denka offers the following suggestions:

* Don't assume you have to learn everything about the Internet or the new computer programs in one fell swoop. "Approach these technologies a little bit at a time, with a philosophy of 'climb the stairs step by step.'"

* Give yourself permission to experiment and make mistakes. "In the business world, it's easy to feel that you must do everything perfectly the first time - but remember that you're learning something very new. It's like taking up a new sport - you're not going to have a perfect golf swing the very first day."

* Discover the potential of these resources by using them for simple tasks at first, not just by...