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Anger directed towards a computer

Computer rage refers to negative psychological responses towards a computer due to heightened anger or frustration. 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. 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." 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?" 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. These technical issues, paired with tight timelines, poor work progress, and failure to complete a computer task can create heightened computer anger and frustration.

Research on emotion has shown that anger is often caused by interruptions of plans and expectations, especially through the violation of social norms. 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. 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. Other methods to prevent computer rage can be backing up computer data often, increasing memory of the computer, 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. 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. 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.