

Young and unplugged - wallflower
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2009/04/25/wired_differently/

======
TomOfTTB
I don't find this suprising. There's always been a spectrum of human behavior.
HN readers are one side, these folks are the other and there are tons of
people in between. Nothing wrong with it.

The only thing that did bug me is the obvious attitude from the people
interviewed. I don't have any problem with how they live their life but let's
be honest: Their zealots. People who feel the need to expel technology because
they don't think themselves capable of moderation.

That's fine. We live in a free country. But it is a weakness. Not something
that justifies their "proud to the point of smug" attitude.

~~~
jackchristopher
I agree. This is standard human behavior with regards to new technology. In
fact we may have inherited it from the primate line. The resistant attitude
among the older population to new technologies is documented in particular.

The narrative today is that technology is "taking over". But that's always
been true. It's more accurate to say we're move dependent on it now than ever.
And that's because we've simply built the new inventions off the old ones.

And luddite-chic attitudes, especially among artsy types, will remain. Not
that that's a bad thing but it's typical. Artist love to explore old mediums.
That's basically their job.

I predict we'll continue to see these attitudes and articles covering them.
And it'll probably grow unfortunately. But this becomes dangerous if it turns
people into real Luddite. Technology is the big man on campus, and to get a
name for yourself the easy thing to do is to knock him down.

~~~
silentbicycle
I can't source the exact quote (anybody?), but I remember somebody saying, "A
pretty good definition of technology is whatever didn't already exist when you
were a kid."

I don't really get into Twitter, but about hundred years ago, _bicycles_ were
novel technology.

~~~
ken
"'Technology' is what we call whatever didn't exist when we were born." --Alan
Kay

~~~
silentbicycle
Thanks!

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callmeed
FTA: _A small group of people are reacting to what is overload_

You mean _overreacting_. If you want to eschew owning a microwave or an iPod
because you truly enjoy cooking and the sound of your LPs–great. But if you're
doing it just to be a contrarian or lead the next hipster movement, you're no
better than people who are slaves to gadgets IMO.

The key is balance, not prohibition. I didn't have cable TV for most of my
twenties. Then I realized how much I missed watching baseball games. Now we
have cable–I'm not a slave to it and neither are my kids.

Have fun listening to your turntable on the subway ...

~~~
greggraham
I think people like this help balance the population. They provide an example
that a good life is possible without all of these things that some of think we
can't live without. They also point out what we are missing out on by not have
time to read books as much, for example. However, just because they do it does
not mean that everyone must go as far as they do. I think the reasonable
reaction to a story like this is to reevaluate one's life and possibly make
some adjustments, but for most people it would not mean giving it all up.

------
Zak
I've taken similar actions, but the specifics are quite different. I don't
have a phone - neither mobile nor landline. I have a Skype phone number, but I
don't always have it open, and I don't always answer it even when it is. I
don't watch TV, though I will occasionally download things that were shown on
TV. I'm online a lot, but I don't use Myspace, Facebook or twitter. I don't
even see the point of the latter.

I think it's becoming increasingly important to make careful decisions about
time-consuming activities. Don't multitask too much. Make an extra effort to
focus on depth over breadth.

Edit: it may be that the central theme here is control over how my time is
used. TV ties the user to a specific time schedule. Phones are synchronous
while email is asynchronous. The big social sites seem to be focused on
wasting time more than anything else.

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silentbicycle
What about when people use technology periodically, but neither obsessively
immerse themselves in it nor make a point of eschewing it whenever possible?
There's a middle path here, using cell phones, e-mail, etc. without getting
obsessed with them, but ... it doesn't make for very exciting news, I guess.
(Granted, many examples later on, padding the article, are hardly extreme:
deciding Facebook isn't worth the time, not replacing an iPod, etc.)

It also reminds me of an article I read about the Amish, and their careful
scrutiny of modern tech, and rationalizations for which they felt were a net
positive:
[http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/02/amish_hackers...](http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/02/amish_hackers_a.php)

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nutmeg
The article made me realize I was reading HN instead of doing something
productive. Closing browser now! Getting things done.

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carterschonwald
It probably helps that the couples profiled are not in professions which
necessitate having internet computer use constantly. Point me to the lawyer
who isn't always near email or editing documents digitally (after perhaps
proofing a hard copy) and that is a lawyer who's not busy.

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bumbledraven
It was fun reading this on my MacBook with an EV card while sitting on the
grass by the Charles River.

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ChrisXYZ
To echo what some people are already saying, I think it's fine if you're not
totally into gadgets or don't want to get overwhelmed with pointless,
distracting communication.

Just don't be self-righteous and superior about it.

Don't be like that Stuff White People Like entry: White people like not owning
TVs so they can tell people they don't own TVs.

[http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/26/28-not-having-
a-t...](http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/26/28-not-having-a-tv/)

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christofd
I can totally relate. I remember back in 94-96, when I ditched all my computer
stuff and went back to a typewriter (while at my part-time job I was selling
computers).

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cwysopal
I think everyone would turn off the TV and not be on the internet when they
are cooking and have friends over for dinner. Ditto for board games. If you
enjoy those things as I do, do them. No need to make a big deal about it. Are
we so twisted that doing those normal things and not being on Facebook or
watching FOX is newsworthy. I haven't seen it.

