My friend called me a Neo-Luddite

[Cyrano]

I don’t twitter. I’ve never been on FB or any other social networking site. I don’t text and I have it blocked on my cell phone. I don’t have an ipod. And I like to read books that are printed on paper and bound.

Actually, I’m probably more of a semi-Luddite. I’m not against technological progress, nor do I think I’m superior in any way to those who embrace new technological developments.

So do you think I’m living in the wrong century?

[niyad]

1. I didn't realize I had a twin!!

seriously, I only got a cell phone recently, won't join any of the social networking sites, and my library is one of those for which the bumper sticker "friends help you move, real friends help you move books" was created.

we aren't in the wrong century, just don't feel the need to embrace every new technology that comes along.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. That makes me one too

as I don't use twitter, I have no FB site, and I don't send text messages on my phone (which is of the non-smart variety), no ipod, no bookreader device. When these 'technological marvels' prove their usefulness to me personally, I'll jump in with both feet. In the meantime, they're just expensive trinkets that wouldn't add any discernible value to my life.

[Cyrano]

18. Okay. Perhaps you can answer this question. Can entropy be reversed?

Actually, Isaac Asimov addressed this question in an outstanding short story titled "The Last Question."

(It's a great story. You can read it by googling Isaac Asimov and reading the eighth entry.)

[lastlib]

20. I'll give you an answer in a few thousand millenia, as soon as....

I have related all data in all possible correlations.

Yes a GREAT story!

[Cyrano]

21. Welcome to DU fellow Asimov fan.

[lastlib]

25. Actually my favorite sci-fi dude is Arthur C. Clarke....

...but Asimov is a strong #2. One story I really liked (but can't recall the title offhand) was about a man who became a secret military wespon simply because he could do arithmetic on paper or in his head. A "human computer!" Everyone else had to have calculators. He finally killed himself because he didn't want to be used for war.

[lastlib]

48. No it was definitely an Asimov story

[Cyrano]

41. Here you go

http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html

On edit: Oops. I just got the real meaning of your post. Good one.

[Cyrano]

45. Yeah, it took me a few beats. I edited the post, but it was too late. Again, good one.

[annabanana]

4. I guess he doesn't understand WHY you are (to his view)

"boycotting" those other platforms.

I have both a twitter & facebook account, but I don't really know how to operate them in any way that seems either useful or meaningful to me.

Perhaps if I conducted more of my life "on the fly" than at home it would make more sense.

I mean if it were out of sheer cussedness, then I'd get his point.

[Cyrano]

14. My friend just doesn't understand those of us who march to the beat of a different flute.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Like you I don't have anything against those things. I don't do Facebook or Twitter but I do text,

email a lot and I'm surgically attached to my ''smartphone''. I still read books the old fashioned way and prefer hardback.

[Odin2005]

6. I still have a flip-phone.

I have no need for a "smart phone" right now.

[Populist_Prole]

11. I Love my flip phone.

When folded it's about the size of a very well used bar of soap. What a pain in the neck it would be trying to slip a rubber-coated "Smart Phone" in and out of my pocket, and have that bulky thing in my pants like a rectangular tumor. It may as well be a brick.

[Odin2005]

38. "rectangular tumor" LOL, true dat!

[lukkadairish]

7. You could

Probably answer your own question more comfortably than we. Are your friends and family the same? Do they communicate with you locally or from a distance quite regularly? Do you see photos of loved ones or accounts of recent important events in a timely manner? Do local civic organizations and causes reach you to your comfort and liking?
There have been very important movements and news events that have begun on Twitter and FB. Libya, the Japan disaster trifecta, Syria, realtime Sandra Fluke commentary, petitions of al kinds, and even the Ohio HS shooting were played out on social media. The impact was very tangible. While I appreciate your independence and nondependence on these things, it may warrant a second look. My 80 yr old dad loves Facebook. It keeps his mind sharp and he has many friends that he wouldn't have otherwise....just a thought

[Populist_Prole]

8. Add me to the list. I honestly don't see what the big deal is

I'm constantly being goaded by friends/family to get on FB. From what I see and hear though, all it seems to do is add unnecessary drama and friction to friendships or aquaintance-ships. I can't get over how many people take the desire to be left alone, or even limited correspondence as a snub. Friend this, unfriend that. Bah!! I get along fine with people face to face.

[elleng]

9. No, if you're happy.

I make use of fb and texting to be in touch w my kids and re-connect w 'old' friends. As a retired senior, such connections are very important to me.

[hfojvt]

10. I hate that term

Obviously being NEO is against everything we Luddites stand for.

I am still using bicycles and clothes pins. I don't have a cel phone, other than the one my employer gave me as a leash. I barely have any use for my land-line, except for maintaining my connection to my beloved telemarketers. They call me a few times a day to tell me they still love me.

IMO, Facebook is sorta like DU with pictures and even less discussion, and heck DU even had pictures in the lounge. Plus, it is not anonymous.

The ipod, however, is the 3rd coolest invention in the known universe, second only to computers and the internets. Well, I suppose fire, the wheel, and the plow should be in there somewhere, but ipods are by any standard way, way cool.

[phasma ex machina]

12. DU feels like a social networking site to me. OK, maybe an old-school social networking site.

[Swede]

13. Is that them new lightweight suitcases?

[Cyrano]

16. 01111001 01000101 01110011

To read my reply, google binary alphabet.


On edit: Sorry about that. Wingnuts would probably call me an "elitist" for giving that answer. Those numbers spell out y e s in binary code.

[zbdent]

31. 01101100 01101111 01101100

[Cyrano]

34. Back at ya with another l o l.

[hunter]

15. I'm just a Luddite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite

Yep, I do post on DU using a computer I rescued from the trash but that's about it.

If I wanted to hear music, I'd sing.

[Worried senior]

19. I do facebook and twitter

but I have a pre-paid trac phone, use the library for books and mostly use the computer for information like DU.

[zbdent]

22. had an acquaintence tell me that some issue at his work was the "Luddite" in him ...

I pointed out the irony that he worked as a computer programmer as his life's profession ... and he agreed that it was a bizarre situation ...

[Cyrano]

28. I can relate. I spent many years in the software industry as a tech writer.

[saras]

23. "Luddite" is a stupid smear term, not an intellectual concept.

Technology does not, in the majority of cases, automatically equal progress, just profit.

If it doesn't make it easier to do the things YOU value it's not progress. Being interrupted is NOT progress to me, so I don't enable inventions that allow it - including screening phone calls, never mind carrying a cell phone all the time.

Social networking, as a whole, has not made my life or my country better, so I don't regard it as progress, just change.

[Vinca]

24. If you're in the wrong century, so am I.

I don't do twitter or Facebook and . . . one up on you . . . I don't even own a cell phone. My husband did buy himself a Kindle, but I love holding a book and refuse to use one.

[The Straight Story]

26. I do FB but don't own a cell phone (nt)

[lastlib]

49. And I thought I was the last of the dinosaurs....

I liked my semaphore flags and smoke signals!

[left on green only]

27. I'm sure that everyone who has any of those things deserves to.

.

[Warpy]

29. Do you have a spinning wheel sitting next to your computer?

I do.

I think I just beat ya.

[Cyrano]

35. No spinning wheel, but I do have an old IBM AT in the closet collecting dust and rust.

No mouse, no icons -- just a crt screen and a keyboard for typing in commands. It runs on DOS and has a MultiMate word processor.

Unfortunately, it died years ago and I doubt very much if I could find a new hard drive for it. And even if I could, the software is no longer available.

[kestrel91316]

30. I am a very slow adopter of new technologies, and reject some outright.

My tv sits unused because I have no functioning converter box and don't want/need cable. I get news off the internet and can watch shows and youtubes online.

My cell phone is NOT a newfangled smartphone, it's just a cell phone. I DID finally learn how to text about a year ago.

I didn't replace my car when it got stolen. I use feet, bike, and mass transit. People here in Los Angeles think I am eccentric for it.

I am sort of a non-religious Amish - I look at the societal impacts of technology (and also financial). My Amish ancestors would not be proud (they don't do pride) but they would be supportive, I suspect.

[spin]

32. Interesting. I am somewhat similiar ...

I also have text blocked on my cell phone which I rarely use and only for emergencies. I don't have an ipod and have no interest in owning one.

However I have a Kindle and a Kindle Fire. I love reading and have found these devices enhance my enjoyment. With the basic Kindle, I find it far easier to read in bed with which I usually do for 3 for 4 hours before I go to sleep. It's light and easy to hold with one hand. I do have to have a light on with this device but since I have no current partner, this presents no problem. My favorite feature of the basic Kindle is its ability to search books. If I am reading a novel and am unsure of who an obscure character is, I can simply type his name in the search feature and I will call up every incidence in which the character appears. I can also search every reference to an item in all the books I have stored on the Kindle and in a few seconds I have the results. I currently have 281 books on this device and some are collections, for example, the complete works of William Shakespeare, Jack London, Mark Twain etc. These collections were free or inexpensive. Imagine how much space such a collection of books would require and how much time I would spend to research a topic.

The basic Kindle will access the internet but the Kindle Fire is much better for this task. It also allows me to play games such as Sudoku, chess, solitaire, poker and blackjack and a large number of more advanced games such as Sim City and John Madden football and Angry Birds if I chose. Most of these games were free or very inexpensive. I can check weather radar if my NOAA weather radio alerts me during the night without running into the living room and turning on my laptop. I can even watch movies. I often like to look at breaking news before I fall asleep and this device enables me to do this and far more.

Since I bought my basic Kindle I actually dislike reading dead tree books.

In my opinion we are both semi-Luddites. This is not necessarily bad.

[Cyrano]

36. Sounds like you're really enjoying your Kindle and you've almost convinced me to

consider getting one.

Nonetheless, for me, there's nothing like sitting up in bed with a real book resting on my knees and a bowl of muchies nearby.

Here's to semi-Luddism.

[spin]

44. To each his own, but yes I am enjoying my Kindles. (n/t)

[snagglepuss]

53. Given Kindle's staggering privacy issues, I wouldn't use one if they paid me.

For the same reason i don't do FB or Twitter nor use a smartphone or ipod. Heck I don't even collect points.

[snagglepuss]

52. Are you not troubled that everything you do on Kindle is stored and can be

analyzed? Even high-lighted sentences are noted.



http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/195885-markey-unhappy-with-amazon-response-to-kindle-privacy-concerns

[HopeHoops]

33. Join the crowd. I'm a geek from way back. I don't text. I use Firefox 3.6.18. Don't DWY.

I think the more you understand technology the more you know what to avoid. I still have a turntable, VCR and LaserDisc hooked up to the stereo system (not that easy to assemble, mind you). No BlueRay. I don't twitter and I only get on FB about once every two months to see if any of my high school friends (late 70's) have anything to say. I can still run circles around the kids that think they're the knew "whiz kids" (as I was called), but I really don't care to. It's there time. Let them have at it. I had my time. No, you aren't a Luddite. You're just practical. It isn't about having the new "shiny thing". It's about what you need.

[edhopper]

37. Your friend is wrong.

The Luddites tried to destroy the machinery of the Industrial Revolution.
Choosing not to use many of these (which frankly can be a waste of time) Just means you have other things that interest you.
If you wanted to round up all the iPads and crush them under a truck, THEN we could say you were a Luddite.

[B Calm]

42. I don't do FB or Twitter. I still have

dial up Internet. I do have a cell phone, but only because I'm a truck driver and feel the need to have one in case of an emergency.

[customerserviceguy]

50. Your description of your activities sounds pretty much like me

No Twitter, no texting (also have it blocked), no iPod (but I do have an MP3 player kicking around here that I've lost somewhere). I did get on FB, but only to connect up with an exchange student that my ex and I had in our home about ten years ago. I sure don't check the fool thing more than twice a year. Once ebook readers get down to a really cheap price, and ebooks themselves sell for only a couple of dollars instead of the dead-tree type, I'll probably have one. Took a look at my lady's new Kobo the other day, it looked cool, but I didn't rush out any buy one.

However, I've got an associate degree in computer networking, and can fix just about any kind of computer, except an Apple. I hear they don't need fixing, anyway. I went for a smartphone a couple of years ago, and it's become my newspaper.

I sure don't think of myself as a Luddite, just someone who doesn't need every time-sucking gimmick that comes down the pike.

[Honeycombe8]

51. I am of your world! Sort of.

I do twitter a bit. But I don't do FB. I just got my first laptop at Christmas (I had and still have a 9 year old desktop.) I don't have a smartphone (I have a regular pay as you go cell phone that I use mainly for emergencies and don't keep turned on.). I don't have a tablet or playstation or xbox or (insert latest gadget here). My main tv is a tube CRT. I don't have HD and don't plan on getting it.

I'm very techie at work and seem to have a knack for such things. But in my personal life, I like to keep things simple. Electronics take a lot of time to maintain and fix. I also don't like spending money on all those gadgets. They are expensive, not just to buy, but to maintain.

I'm paranoid about FB and social sites. They stalk you and mine data and such.

I did get a Kindle for Christmas - the kind that runs on cell phone technology as well as wi-fit. But I only got it because I got one for a relative in a nursing home, so I wanted to get one so I could help her learn to use it, and also, I could put hers on my account so she won't get charged for anything. There is not a monthly charge for it, but you have to pay for newer books. I prefer regular paper books, though. But the Kindle is pretty neat, since you can get the classics and other books for free.

I don't know how people pay for all the electronics they seem to get repeatedly. Not just the initial cost, but also the monthly.

[Spider Jerusalem]

54. Not at all

I don't have Twitter, or Facebook, or Myspace either; I don't SMS, I don't even have a smartphone, I use an old Motorola and only make calls in emergencies. I don't feel a need to be constantly connected. Nor to share what I happen to be doing at any given time in 140-character updates. Nor to have people I haven't spoken to in 20 years and haven't wanted to suddenly "friend" me on Facebook. Social networking is designed for shallow extroverts; it's great if you're one of those people, but I am not.

[Nye Bevan]

56. Give the Kindle a try. Only $79, and you can return it if you don't like it. (nt)

[Dorian Gray]

57. hah!

no. I FB. I have an IPod and an I Pad. But I write letters and read books, as well. Embrace various forms of technology and pre-technology.

[lunatica]

58. I haven't seen the point of doing all that stuff for myself

I'm still of the idea that when I want to talk to someone I work with I can just walk to their office and discuss the business with words and facial expressions and body language and stuff and solve the issue. Or call them on the phone.

I think talking is the biggest shortcut to solving whatever issue is being discussed because reading expressions and gestures is an integral part of communicating ideas. I know, old fashioned in the current technological times.

I'm a semi-luddite too.