Computer rage refers to negative psychological responses towards a computer due to heightened anger or frustration. [1] Examples of computer rage include cursing or yelling at a computer, slamming or throwing a keyboard or a mouse, and assaulting the computer or monitor with an object or weapon.
In April 2015, a Colorado man was cited for firing a gun within a residential area when he took his computer into a back alley and shot it eight times with a 9mm pistol. [2] When questioned, he told police that he had become so frustrated with his computer that he had "reached critical mass," and stated that after he had shot his computer, "the angels sung on high." [3] In 2007, a German man threw his computer out the window in the middle of the night, startling his neighbors. German police were sympathetic and did not press charges, stating, "Who hasn't felt like doing that?" [4] In 2006, the staged surveillance video "Bad Day", showing a man assaulting his computer at work, became a viral hit on the Internet, reaching over two million views. [5] Other instances of reported computer rage have ranged from a restaurant owner who threw his laptop into a deep fryer, to an individual who attempted to throw his computer out the window, but forgot that the window was closed. [6]
The Angry German Kid is a popular Internet meme that stems from a viral video from the mid-2000s where the protagonist screams at his computer for loading too slowly, and repeatedly hits the table with the keyboard, causing keys to fall off.
In 1999, it was speculated that computer rage had become more common than road rage in traffic, [7] but in a 2015 study, it was found that reported rates of anger when using a computer were lower than reported rates of anger while driving. However, reports of anger while driving or using computers were found to be far more common than anger in other situations. [8]
In a 2013 survey of American adults, 36% of respondents who reported experiencing computer issues, also reported that they had screamed, yelled, cursed, or physically assaulted their computers within the last six months. [9]
In 2009, a survey was conducted with British computer users about their experiences with computers. This survey found that 54% of respondents reported verbally abusing their computers, and 40% reported that they had become physically violent toward their computers. The survey also found that most users experienced computer rage three to four times a month. [10]
Differences in types of computer rage have also been found between different geographical regions. For example, one survey found that individuals from London have been found to be five times more likely to physically assault their computers, while those from Yorkshire and the Humber were found to be more likely to yell at their computers. [11] Differences have also been observed for age groups, as younger adults (18–24 years old) have reported more abusive behaviors in the face of computer frustration when compared to older adults (over 35 years old). [9] Individuals with less computer experience in particular have also been reported to experience increased feelings of anger and helplessness when it comes to computers, [12] but other research has argued that it is the self-efficacy beliefs about computers that are predictive of computer frustration, not the amount of computer experience or use. [13]
In 1999, Professor Robert J. Edelmann, a chartered clinical, forensic and health psychologist and a fellow of the British Psychological Society, was offering a special helpline in the UK for those with technology-related anger. [14] [7]
Users can experience computer anger and frustration for a number of reasons. American adults surveyed in 2013 reported that almost half (46%) of their computer problems were due to malware or computer viruses, followed by software issues (10%) and not enough memory (8%). [15] In another survey, users reported email, word processors, web browsing, operating system crashes, inability to locate features, and program crashes as frequent initiators of computer frustration. [16] These technical issues, paired with tight timelines, poor work progress, and failure to complete a computer task can create heightened computer anger and frustration. [10] [13] When this anger and frustration exceeds a person's control, it can turn into rage. [17]
Research on emotion has shown that anger is often caused by interruptions of plans and expectations, especially through the violation of social norms. [18] This sense of anger can be magnified when the individual does not understand why they are unable to meet their goal or task at hand or why there was a violation of social norms. Psychologists have argued that this is particularly relevant to computer rage, as computer users interact with computers in a manner similar to how they interact with other people. [19] Thus, when computers fail to function in the face of incoming deadlines or an important task to accomplish, users can feel betrayed by the computer in the same way they can feel betrayed by other people. Specifically, when users fail to understand why their computer will not work properly, often in the times they need it to the most, it can invoke a sense of hostility as it is interpreted as a breach of social norms or a personal attack. [8] [12] Consistent with this finding, perceived betrayal by the computer can also elicit other negative emotions. One survey of US adults reported that 10% of users who experience computer issues experienced feeling helplessness, and 4% reported feeling victimized. In the same survey, 7% adults ages 18–34 reported that they had cried over their computer problems within the previous six months. [9]
Computer rage can result in damaged property or physical injuries, as well as psychological harm. [17] Some experts have suggested that venting frustrations on the computer may have some benefits, but other experts disagree. For example, yelling at the computer has been suggested as a way to moderate one's anger to avoid the ill effects of anger suppression, [10] but new research has suggested that yelling can negatively affect health in itself. [12] Alternatively, releasing anger on a computer has been viewed as advantageous as it directs this rage at an object as opposed to another person, and can make individuals feel better afterwards. [17]
In response to computer issues that invoke frustration, some experts have suggested walking away from the computer for 15 minutes to "cool off". [20] Other methods to prevent computer rage can be backing up computer data often, [21] increasing memory of the computer, [15] and even imagining pleasant images, such as petting an animal. [12] Adopting a goal of improving computer knowledge may also be beneficial, as users are less likely to report computer rage when they view the issue as a challenge and not as a setback. [16] If computer rage cannot be avoided, guidelines on how to rage with minimal consequences, such as wearing safety goggles and taking frustration out on older equipment, can be followed to reduce the likelihood of injury and significant property loss. [17]
Employers of staff who work with computers, often in situations where time is crucial, can take steps to prevent computer rage, such as making sure there is adequate software, and providing employees with anger management strategies. [22] Some computer technician companies have reported that, to reduce computer rage, their technicians are trained on how to work with customers in sensitive psychological states just as much as how to diagnose and fix technical issues. [23]
Designing computer interfaces to display more emotional support when errors occur, or provide therapy strategies, has also been suggested as a way to mitigate computer anger and rage. [13] The application of affective computing has been shown to effectively mitigate negative emotions connected to computer use. One study found that an interface that sought the user's feelings, provided empathy, and validated reported emotional states significantly reduced negative emotions associated with computer frustration for users. [24] Another study found that when error messages contain positive wording ("Great that the computer will soon work again") compared to negative wording ("This is frustrating") or a neutral error message, users exhibited more signs of happiness. [25]
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is no scientific consensus on a definition. Emotions are often intertwined with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, or creativity.
Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat.
In psychology, a mood is an affective state. In contrast to emotions or feelings, moods are less specific, less intense and less likely to be provoked or instantiated by a particular stimulus or event. Moods are typically described as having either a positive or negative valence. In other words, people usually talk about being in a good mood or a bad mood. There are many different factors that influence mood, and these can lead to positive or negative effects on mood.
Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully. Anger is frequently a result of frustration, or of feeling blocked or thwarted from something the subject feels is important. Anger can also be a defensive response to underlying fear or feelings of vulnerability or powerlessness. Anger management programs consider anger to be a motivation caused by an identifiable reason which can be logically analyzed and addressed.
Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimidate or release frustration. Road rage can lead to altercations, damage to property, assaults, and collisions that result in serious physical injuries or even death. Strategies include cutting motorists off, inappropriate honking, using obscene gestures, flipping off another driver, swerving, tailgating, brake checking, and physical confrontation.
User experience (UX) is how a user interacts with and experiences a product, system or service. It includes a person's perceptions of utility, ease of use, and efficiency. Improving user experience is important to most companies, designers, and creators when creating and refining products because negative user experience can diminish the use of the product and, therefore, any desired positive impacts. Conversely, designing toward profitability as a main objective often conflicts with ethical user experience objectives and even causes harm. User experience is subjective. However, the attributes that make up the user experience are objective.
Rage is intense, uncontrolled anger that is an increased stage of hostile response to a perceived egregious injury or injustice.
Cyberpsychology is a scientific inter-disciplinary domain that focuses on the psychological phenomena which emerge as a result of the human interaction with digital technology, particularly the Internet.
Emotional dysregulation is characterized by an inability flexibly to respond to and manage emotional states, resulting in intense and prolonged emotional reactions that deviate from social norms, given the nature of the environmental stimuli encountered. Such reactions not only deviate from accepted social norms but also surpass what is informally deemed appropriate or proportional to the encountered stimuli.
Wrap rage, also called package rage, is the common name for heightened levels of anger and frustration resulting from the inability to open packaging, particularly some heat-sealed plastic blister packs and clamshells. People can be injured while opening difficult packaging: cutting tools pose a sharp hazard to the person opening the package, as well as to its contents.
Affective design describes the design of products, services, and user interfaces that aim to evoke intended emotional responses from consumers, ultimately improving customer satisfaction. It is often regarded within the domain of technology interaction and computing, in which emotional information is communicated to the computer from the user in a natural and comfortable way. The computer processes the emotional information and adapts or responds to try to improve the interaction in some way. The notion of affective design emerged from the field of human–computer interaction (HCI), specifically from the developing area of affective computing. Affective design serves an important role in user experience (UX) as it contributes to the improvement of the user's personal condition in relation to the computing system. Decision-making, brand loyalty, and consumer connections have all been associated with the integration of affective design. The goals of affective design focus on providing users with an optimal, proactive experience. Amongst overlap with several fields, applications of affective design include ambient intelligence, human–robot interaction, and video games.
Emotion classification, the means by which one may distinguish or contrast one emotion from another, is a contested issue in emotion research and in affective science. Researchers have approached the classification of emotions from one of two fundamental viewpoints:
Human–computer interaction (HCI) is research in the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design technologies that allow humans to interact with computers in novel ways. A device that allows interaction between human being and a computer is known as a "Human-computer Interface (HCI)".
User experience evaluation (UXE) or user experience assessment (UXA) refers to a collection of methods, skills and tools utilized to uncover how a person perceives a system before, during and after interacting with it. It is non-trivial to assess user experience since user experience is subjective, context-dependent and dynamic over time. For a UXA study to be successful, the researcher has to select the right dimensions, constructs, and methods and target the research for the specific area of interest such as game, transportation, mobile, etc.
The Media Equation is a general communication theory that claims people tend to assign human characteristics to computers and other media, and treat them as if they were real social actors. The effects of this phenomenon on people experiencing these media are often profound, leading them to behave and to respond to these experiences in unexpected ways, most of which they are completely unaware of.
In psychology of art, the relationship between art and emotion has newly been the subject of extensive study thanks to the intervention of esteemed art historian Alexander Nemerov. Emotional or aesthetic responses to art have previously been viewed as basic stimulus response, but new theories and research have suggested that these experiences are more complex and able to be studied experimentally. Emotional responses are often regarded as the keystone to experiencing art, and the creation of an emotional experience has been argued as the purpose of artistic expression. Research has shown that the neurological underpinnings of perceiving art differ from those used in standard object recognition. Instead, brain regions involved in the experience of emotion and goal setting show activation when viewing art.
The study of the relationship between gender and emotional expression is the study of the differences between men and women in behavior that expresses emotions. These differences in emotional expression may be primarily due to cultural expectations of femininity and masculinity.
Cute aggression, or playful aggression, is the urge to squeeze or bite things perceived as being cute without the desire to cause any harm. It is a common type of dimorphous display, where a person experiences positive and negative expressions simultaneously in a disorganised manner. Individuals experiencing cute aggression may find themselves clenching their jaw or fists, with the urge to squish, pinch or bite an adorable baby, animal, or object.
A functional account of emotions posits that emotions facilitate adaptive responses to environmental challenges. In other words, emotions are systems that respond to environmental input, such as a social or physical challenge, and produce adaptive output, such as a particular behavior. Under such accounts, emotions can manifest in maladaptive feelings and behaviors, but they are largely beneficial insofar as they inform and prepare individuals to respond to environmental challenges, and play a crucial role in structuring social interactions and relationships.
Doomscrolling or doomsurfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of news, particularly negative news, on the internet and social media. Doomscrolling can also be defined as the excessive consumption of short-form videos or social media content for an excessive period of time without stopping. The concept was coined around 2020, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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