New Luddism

In February 2023, I deleted Instagram off of my phone. May of that same year I deactivated my account for good. --- I didn't realize it then, but that one action set me up for a more experience-rich, peaceful, and emotionally and creatively fulfilling lifetime.

I didn't delete social media with much purpose. I was simply bored of it, and had the vague feeling that it made me feel worse about myself more than anything. 

However, months after I'd made the decision, I spoke about it with a friend who was, at the time, engaging with social media on a daily basis. That one conversation shed light on every inchoate negative feeling we had about the internet. It prompted us both to embark on a journey to claim our lives back from online social networking by opting out of entertainment media consumption and social media usage entirely. 

Day by day, using more introspective thought than I was used to, the decision began to take form of something far more logical and aligned with my values than I initially gave it credit for. I'd been growing up in a generation where several hours of digital media consumption a day was commonplace. I couldn't, and still can't, recall a day of my youth that was free of the pseudo-pressures created and facilitated by social media. I realized just how much social media had been dictating my life choices, interests, self-image, and interpersonal relationships until that point. 

Then, I realized the scope at which social media was operating --- globally! 

Everyone has these time-vacuums in their pockets, which entertain endlessly but leave users empty. Algorithms dictate what we like, dislike, want, believe, and fear. Under a short-form economy, even art loses its purpose, as it is not done for its own sake, but rather to please the algorithm. The price we pay for cheap entertainment and the illusion of connectivity is our privacy and peace of mind. There's always something new to consume, but what is a life that is all consumption? Late stage capitalism and the smartphone are a match made in hell. 

Everything simultaneously stopped and started making sense. I felt like I had woken up. For the first time, I saw that nothing truly mattered to me. I had spent my life keeping up appearances that were vaguely defined and definitely not my own. Deleting social media was the first step to discerning my values.

I was inspired to write about what this experience meant for me after seeing a news clip about the Luddite Club in Brooklyn --- a group of teenagers in New York who have revitalized a movement dating back to the 19th century UK industrial revolution. 

Luddism is a movement against industrial capitalism and the abuse of technology, named after the folkloric General Ned Ludd, who broke textile machinery in protest of dangerous working conditions. Nowadays, the term "luddite" is used pejoratively to describe someone who isn't adept at using new technologies. 

The Luddite Club embraces luddite ideology, placing specific emphasis on rejecting the exploitation and intellectual stifling of young minds at the hands of big tech. Their story has been an inspiration to me and to many, urging a reconsideration of consumption habits and smartphone reliance across the nation.

<< LAST // NEXT >>