DoomsdaysCW

Now in College, #LudditeTeens Still Don’t Want Your Likes

Three years after starting a club meant to fight #SocialMedia’s grip on young people, many original members are holding firm and gaining new converts.

By Alex Vadukul
Jan. 30, 2025

"Biruk Watling, a college sophomore wearing a baggy coat and purple fingerless gloves, walked the chilly campus of Temple University in #Philadelphia on a recent afternoon to recruit new members to her club.
She taped a flier to a pole: '#JoinTheLudditeClub For #MeaningfulConnections.' Down the block, she posted another one: 'Do You Desire a Healthier Relationship With Technology, Especially Social Media? The Luddite Club Welcomes You and Your Ideas.'

"When a student approached, Ms. Watling dove into her pitch.

"'Our club promotes #ConsciousConsumption of #technology,' she said. 'We’re for #HumanConnection. I’m one of the first members of the original Luddite Club in #Brooklyn. Now I’m trying to start it in #Philly.

"She pulled out a #FlipPhone, mystifying her recruit.

"'We use these,' she said. 'This has been the most freeing experience of my life.'
If Ms. Watling had a missionary’s zeal, it was because she wasn’t just promoting a student club, but an approach to modern life that profoundly changed her two years ago, when she helped form the Luddite Club as a high school student in New York.

"But that was then, back when things were simpler, before she had embarked on the more independent life of a college student and found herself having to navigate QR codes, two-factor-identification logins, dating apps and other digital staples of campus life.

"The #LudditeClub was the subject of an article I wrote in 2022 — a story that, ironically, went viral. It told of how a group of teenage tech skeptics from Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn and a few other schools in the city gathered on weekends in Prospect Park to enjoy some time together away from the machine.

"They #sketched and #painted side by side. They read quietly, favoring works by #Dostoyevsky, #Kerouac and #Vonnegut. They sat on logs and groused about how #TikTok was dumbing down their generation. Their flip phones were decorated with stickers and nail polish.

"Readers inspired by their message responded in hundreds of emails and comments. Reporters from Germany, Brazil, Japan and elsewhere flooded my inbox, asking me how to reach these students who were so hard to track down online. Snarky Reddit threads and think pieces sprouted. #RalphNader endorsed the club in an opinion essay, writing: 'This is a rebellion that needs support and diffusion.'"

Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/style/luddite-teens-reunion.html

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/
#SolarPunkSunday #Nature #NeoLuddite #Luddites #LessScreenTime #MoreBoardGames #MoreGreenTime #MoreOutdoorTime #FlipPhones #MoreBooks #ResistTheMachine

Luddite Teens Still Don’t Want Your Likes

Three years after starting a club meant to fight social media’s grip on young people, many original members are holding firm and gaining new converts.

The New York Times
Feb 9 at 10:34pmWeb
Show threadColin Cogle Feb 9
@DoomsdaysCW Good for them! That being said, I like having a smart phone, with my choice of apps, messengers, and federated social platforms.
Show threadDoomsdaysCWFeb 9
@colin Oh hey, I enjoy having my Bird and Plant ID apps on my smartphone as well, but I don't have my phone on 24/7. And I use a laptop for most of my news and Mastodon -- because I hate typing on a phone (I have a great wired keyboard that's the most comfortable keyboard I've ever used -- and of course, they don't make them anymore. I did find a backup on eBay). But I often walk away from the laptop to do stuff, take walks, etc. I noticed that the younger generations (and some older ones) look at their phones ALL THE TIME! Unaware of the world around them. That can't be a good thing for their brains. Not to mention in terms of situational awareness!
Show threadColin Cogle Feb 9

@DoomsdaysCW I guess I’m just old enough to appreciate being able to be connected all the time, while not feeling it’s necessary.

My dad has a flip phone. He asked me for help with something. Despite owning something like this 20 years ago, picking one up made me feel like a caveman trying to understand quantum mechanics. How these kids use one is beyond me now. More power to them, though.

Show threadDoomsdaysCWFeb 9
@colin I miss my flip phone. The only reason I got a smartphone is my flip phone wasn't supported anymore (gotta love #PlannedObsolescence ). I might look into getting another flip phone now that there are ones out there being supported. I also have a digital camera that I use rather than the phone (the camera has a nice zoom lens). But I don't always lug my camera everywhere, so the smartphone is good for that (but even my flip phone had a camera).