When a computer problem strikes, there are two ways to react.

One generation blames the gadget. They explore menus to find an answer, typing their questions into Google. If it still can’t be fixed, they return it and slam all corners of the web with bad reviews to spare others from a similar fate.

The other generation blames themselves. They believe they can’t understand it and are timid to click, worried that they might hit the self-destruct key and set fire to the house.

This mindset is true no matter the time or the gadget. Blame the speed of innovation. As soon as we get a handle on sending email from an iPad, now we have to learn how to use it to “check-in” to the coffee shop to get a discount on scones. (And you don’t even like scones.)

I remember when Facebook was launched, when I was in college. It took the campus by storm and began to overthrow AOL Instant Messenger as the primary way for us to chat and share our feelings through obscure lyrics and movie quotes.

Shortly after I began covering technology in 2006, Facebook went public. We young graduates with college Facebook accounts went into a panic over what party photos the bosses might find.

Now congressmen lose their jobs for posting media that’s a little too social.

A business wasn’t hip if they didn’t fling around the buzzword Web 2.0. Now everyone is going “to the cloud.”

In February 2007, the domain address extension .mobi was to be the way we would all access the web on our phones. A few months later, the iPhone told us there was an app for that.

In my five years here writing about technology and social media, I’ve made it my goal to deconstruct the mystery that comes with the jargon of technology. But my time writing for Tech Tuesday has come to an end. I’m leaving The Miami Herald family for a new adventure, but before I go I want to pass on some advice to vanquish any tech fears or frustrations.

Step 1: Touch it. If it’s a gadget like a smartphone, spend time using the camera, typing a message, searching the Web. If it’s a website, poke around and watch how others use it. You’re not going to break anything. I promise. (And if you do, then it’s junk.)

Step 2: Ask questions. And then ask more questions. Ask them to your cubicle neighbor. Ask them to your granddaughter. Ask strangers on Twitter. Ask Google. (You can’t ask Jeeves anymore, but you could still try Ask.com.) The tech-savvy people in your life got that way because they weren’t afraid to ask. No one understands every aspect of technology right away.

Step 3: Think different. It’s Apple’s old marketing mantra, but it’s also an important lesson in adapting with the times. Just look at how we moved away from needing a physical computer to storing our lives online. (There’s that cloud buzzword again.) Embracing technology means to be in a constant state of learning and experimentation.

Your skepticism must dissolve the sugary fluff from product commercials that use words like “magic” or zap lighting bolts across the screen — without ever showing the actual product.

Technology can be pricey and painful to adjust to. But it is also romantic. With every new product, every new app or service, we get a glimpse into a brighter future, a more connected world. That new tablet, that new app, it brings us just a little closer to the sci-fi paradise we long to escape to. The products pull at our heartstrings — and as in any loving relationship, they also pull at our pocketbooks.

I may be leaving South Florida, but I’m not leaving the world of tech. You can still find me dishing out tech news and deciphering trends. Search for me online, in cyberspace, the cloud, the interwebs ... or whatever the kids call it these days.