Gen Z's new anti-tech rebellion: making eye contact and listening to each other
The Luddite Club in New York City is a group of young people who reject smartphone dependency in favor of offline social connection. Members meet regularly to engage in screen-free activities, arguing that life without constant digital connectivity is more fulfilling.
Why it matters
This movement reflects a growing cultural pushback against the ubiquity of social media and the perceived negative impacts of constant digital connectivity.
Members of the Luddite Club gather in New York City's Tomkins Square Park. Corrie Aune for BI Members of New York City's Luddite Club yearn for a life without a screen. Some have given up smartphones. Others have more radical ideas. They say limiting technology has made their lives richer and allowed them to connect with others. Jameson Butler hated how much time she spent on her smartphone , so over the pandemic, she ditched it for a flip phone. It was meant to be a temporary "social media cleanse." Years later, the 19-year-old still hasn't gone back. "Immediately, the quality of my life increased so dramatically," she said during a meetup of like-minded tech skeptics in New York City's Tompkins Square Park on Sunday. "I was like, oh my God, we've all been sold this lie that we have to have phones."
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