...and then at some point it changed. Jonathan Haidt says fb like button in 2012

The earliest use of social media was basically to share our offline lives with distant acquaintances.

Undisciplined

The absolute irony of influencers using online platforms to promote an offline lifestyle. If you genuinely want to push back against invasive algorithms and tech dominance, you have to put your money where your mouth is. True detachment means actually logging off, not turning a luddite aesthetic into digital content for engagement.

Hazard_sats

The festival for big-tech sceptics, held in New York from June 28th to July 5th, stayed mostly true to its principles. Phones were banned. The event had no social-media presence. Organisers relied on posters and word of mouth to publicise the festival. Perhaps as a result, the crowds were small. Yet those who came, most of them in their 20s, reflect an ambivalence about technology that is increasingly common among Generation Z.

"Members of this cohort are the first to have grown up entirely in the age of the smartphone."

I usually say that the jury is still out on whether social media and smartphones are net good or net bad for society/wellbeing etc. Alas:

many are reflecting on what it has cost them. In 2024 nearly a quarter of Gen Z-ers told Harris, a pollster, that they wished smartphones had never been invented

The original Luddites were 19th-century textile workers who resented the mechanisation of their industry. They were not opposed to all technology, but feared for their livelihoods. Today’s young Luddites do not shun the digital world entirely, but object to tracking tools, invasive algorithms and devices’ effect on their social lives.

"Artificial intelligence has added another fear: 70% of Gen Z think AI will have a negative impact on jobs"

Some Gen Z-ers are trying to lead more analogue lives, swapping screen time for offline pursuits. Sales of flip phones and cassette tapes have risen. New “Luddite clubs” encourage people to give up their smartphones and social media, at least for a while. Ironically, going offline is being popularised online. Influencers post about gardening and puzzles as antidotes to doomscrolling, reframing tactile activities as a “luxury” lifestyle.

Yes, let me just post this braggingly on SN.

HealthAndFitness

econ

Ah, I can empathize (sympathize?) https://stacker.news/items/1485162, https://stacker.news/items/1514801

![](https://m.stacker.news/147960)

> The festival for big-tech sceptics, held in New York from June 28th to July 5th, stayed mostly true to its principles. Phones were banned. The event had no social-media presence. Organisers relied on posters and word of mouth to publicise the festival. Perhaps as a result, the crowds were small. Yet those who came, most of them in their 20s, reflect an ambivalence about technology that is increasingly common among Generation Z.

Pretty good summary right there

## "Members of this cohort are the first to have grown up entirely in the age of the smartphone."

I usually say that the jury is still out on whether social media and smartphones are net good or net bad for society/wellbeing etc. Alas:

> many are reflecting on what it has cost them. In 2024 nearly a quarter of Gen Z-ers told Harris, a pollster, that they wished smartphones had never been invented

Obviously this:

> The original Luddites were 19th-century textile workers who resented the mechanisation of their industry. They were not opposed to all technology, but feared for their livelihoods. Today’s young Luddites do not shun the digital world entirely, but object to tracking tools, invasive algorithms and devices’ effect on their social lives.

## "Artificial intelligence has added another fear: 70% of Gen Z think AI will have a negative impact on jobs"

> Some Gen Z-ers are trying to lead more analogue lives, swapping screen time for offline pursuits. Sales of flip phones and cassette tapes have risen. New “Luddite clubs” encourage people to give up their smartphones and social media, at least for a while. Ironically, going offline is being popularised online. Influencers post about gardening and puzzles as antidotes to doomscrolling, reframing tactile activities as a “luxury” lifestyle.

Yes, let me just post this braggingly on SN.

***

archive: [https://archive.md/Me0dx](https://archive.md/Me0dx)

"Members of this cohort are the first to have grown up entirely in the age of the smartphone.""Members of this cohort are the first to have grown up entirely in the age of the smartphone."

"Artificial intelligence has added another fear: 70% of Gen Z think AI will have a negative impact on jobs""Artificial intelligence has added another fear: 70% of Gen Z think AI will have a negative impact on jobs"