“As of late, zillennials have been finding delight—and refuge from a complicated world—in all that exudes ‘whimsy’, a word that is now internet shorthand to characterize playful and spontaneous lifestyle choices. (related: going Luddite, all things analog and ‘grandma hobbies.’)”
From a New York Times article by Maria Santa Poggi “The Texting Generation Delights in Picking Up a Pen” October 8, 2026. This article highlights the latest new thing which is finding and writing to pen pals. I think this is great but I also see it as a fad which will quickly fade.
A few days later, another article appeared referencing Luddites, “No Longer Under the Influence of their Smartphones” by Amanda Hess (New York Times, October 11, 2026). The article is about August Lamm who is organizing efforts to reduce the dependence on smartphones and other technologies. The article makes reference to Luddites, the summer of Ludd, the Luddite Club and other related groups.
Historically, the Luddite movement was initially a worker protest in the 1800’s against automation in the weaving industry which jeopardized worker jobs. Worker protests involved breaking the new machines. The term Luddite evolved over time to include anyone opposed to new technologies.
What is modern day Luddism which is referred to as neo-Luddism? In a Luddite manifesto published around 1996, neo-Luddism is a “leaderless movement of passive resistance to consumerism and the increasingly bizarre and frightening technologies of the Computer Age.”
I have referred to myself as a Luddite or at the least having qualities of Luddism. I am very resistant to change and I am a slow adopter of new technologies. One example is that I have only had a smartphone for about five years. I seldom carry it with me and mostly use it as a phone and for text messages. I do not take pictures with my phone which is something that I believe is best handled by a camera. I am writing this document on paper with a pen. I prefer to read a paper copy of newspapers and read hard cover books. I am not on any social media sites. The closest thing is my blog which I write for myself as a kind of a diary.
I was resistant to digital photography until 2007 when I bought a point and shoot digital camera. I was an adjunct photography instructor and my interest in digital was to learn the basics to be ready to teach a digital photo course. The photo program was slow to adopt digital and I retired before any digital courses were introduced. In 2011, I decided to go digital and give up analog. Five years later, I missed working with film and started using a system which combined film with digital. I shoot and develop film which I then scan and process the images digitally. I still prefer the look of film and I would rather use a film camera over digital cameras.
I think it is great that young people are revolting against technology but it will take will power to make it part of a life style change instead of just a short-term fad. The problem is the difficulty to break from our everyday technology devices and their addictive qualities.
Public Domain Image
