The Summer of Ludd, an anti-smartphone festival held in New York, featured events such as "Google in Real Life," "flirting rehabilitation," and "hanging out with rats." The festival, reported by the Economist, had small crowds due to its no-phone, no-recording policy, with advertisements only on wheatpasted monochrome posters. A media spokespuppet named Gowanus, made from carpet offcuts with sock arms and button eyes, added charm.
Growing Momentum for Offline Living
Gen Z is increasingly prioritizing in-person socializing, adopting old-fashioned hobbies, and going "90s." Initiatives like Offline Club and New York University's IRL project create phone-free spaces to combat smartphone addiction. Emma Beddington notes her gen Z sons use paper diaries, CDs, and hobbies like playing instruments and embroidery, and are more disciplined about screen time than their parents. One son brought a Brick device to block time-sucking apps on holiday.
This trend is paired with techno-pessimism warning of AI-driven oblivion and smartphones as tools of oppression. Critics argue tech companies engage in "systematic fracking of human beings," extracting attention for profit. While the extinction claims may be wrong, Beddington acknowledges the critique of surveillance and exploitation is increasingly evident.
The Harsh Realities of Pre-Smartphone Life
Beddington cautions that life before smartphones was not idyllic. Driving required navigating with giant floppy map books on the dashboard, leading to constant peril at motorway exits. In 1995, returning from a nightclub in Normandy meant riding in a dilapidated car driven by someone who had been drinking for six hours—survival depended on luck.
Loneliness was pervasive. For those who were awkward, ill, or geographically isolated, life felt empty. Beddington spent years lacking connection until the blogosphere and Twitter enriched her life with online friendships. She argues that the boredom of pre-smartphone adolescence was real: "That student who said she would 'stare at a wall' when the under-16 social media ban came in was accurately describing most of my adolescence." She recalls spending Saturday nights watching Casualty with her mother, noting that a Summer of Ludd is easier than a winter of rain, cold, and early darkness.
Beddington concludes that neo-luddites are fighting the good fight, but switching off will be hardest for her generation, who vividly experienced the world opening up in digital Technicolor through smartphones. She urges a clear-eyed approach to any offline shift.
