Sometimes not understanding a new concept and fear come hand-in-hand, and I suppose there could be full understanding and no fear or just fear based on your knowledge of what you think will happen whenPandora's Box is opened.
I've seen this behavior time and again. It can be caused by people's experiences or lack thereof. The more you believe something may impact you the more likely is the notion that it could be bad and therefore must be eliminated. Software and technology are the types of innovation that evokes "kill" responses from people. The software we love most and believe in is that which we understand and are practiced in using.
I believe social media is a prime example of something that taps an emotion. It is discombobulating on so many fronts. It runs against all our notions of control and having "order" in the world. It might seem to be an anathema to the Incident Command System (ICS) that tries to bring order from chaos. Yet, I see the people who fear it the most are not users and certainly don't understand the power and productivity that social media brings.
If you are an innovator and want to bring about change you will have to deal with the "kill" emotion detailed above.
