Become a Luddite. Students recognized that their time and their sense of well-being was being high-jacked by social media. And they decided to do something about it. A movement was started a few years ago in a Brooklyn, New York high school.
They got off all social media and started spending their time doing real things, like going outside, exploring the real world, drawing, writing, dancing, interacting in-person with friends. They created The Luddite Club (theludditeclub.org) for like-minded students.
The Luddites were, according to Wikipedia, “members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers who opposed the use of certain types of automated machinery due to concerns relating to worker pay and output quality. They often destroyed the machines in organised raids.”
In today’s world, Luddite refers to “people who are opposed to or resistant to new technologies.”
I would propose another definition of Luddite in today’s world, that they are people who are resisting technology’s hold on their lives that steers them by algorithms. Instead, Luddites are taking a strong stand to control how they live their lives and what influences they allow in. A radical move?
Social media is so woven into many people’s lives that it’s hard to recognize the influence it has. It’s also difficult to consider a day-to-day life without it. But that influence and “habit” of hours of tracking things on your phone can be quite harmful to your mental health. Studies have shown an increase in depression and anxiety by regular users, not to mention the decrease in in-person social skills – mainly from lack of practice in the real world.
In the February 2, 2025, edition of the New York Times (nytimes.com), there was a story about the group. Logan Lane, one of the founders of the Brooklyn Luddite Club, delivered a talk at a symposium about technology’s effect on society at The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. One of her points was, “For the youth of today, the developmental experience has been polluted; it’s been cheapened. ‘Who am I?’ becomes ‘How do I appear?’”
That line gave me pause. Think about it. Due to the influence of social media, many, many young people are more concerned about their (superficial) image, than a true assessment of what interests them, what they value, and how they want to live their lives. That lack of foundational, or core, values and self-awareness is what has brought many students into counseling over the years. “Something is missing.” A person is NOT an image. Being in touch with who you are is much, much more important than how you appear.
Members of the original Luddite Club have now gone on to college, and many have continued their practices. The movement has expanded in some circles across the U.S. and into other countries as well. One more resource written about in the New York Times was Light Phone: “a startup that manufactures a minimalist phone that allows for texting and calling and not much else.” Check it out: thelightphone.com.
Yorumlar