Anachrophobia

When I was in elementary school, I was already a fan of science fiction. I also enjoyed learning about nature and was fascinated by spiders (as well as other creatures), so I was well aware the meaning of “arachnophobia.” My mother taught me the meaning of "anachronism,” though I can’t remember how that came up. Around the age of 14, I combined all these influences to create a new word:

anachrophobia, noun. The irrational fear of being misplaced in time due to a time-travel accident.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve experienced a growing apprehension that I will be unable to keep up with changes in culture and (especially) technology. Just recently, I realized that my anxiety about falling behind the times, slipping out of date, or being obsoleted, my trepidation that I will be unable to understand or even operate technology, is just a less literal kind of anachrophobia. So I’ve updated the definition of my new word accordingly:

anachrophobia, noun. 1. The irrational fear of being misplaced in time due to a time-travel accident. 2. The irrational fear falling behind the times or becoming obsolete.

There. I'm sure H.G. Wells, Douglas Adams, Dr. Emmett Brown, and the Doctor would be proud.