Mad Christian Alisha sent us a fascinating story about “Luddite teens”. The piece follows some teenagers from Brooklyn who are aiming to live life without phones. Or at least set on reducing their phone time. The Luddite Club meets together every week – rain, hail, or shine – to draw, paint, read, or enjoy nature. Logan Lane, the 17 year-old girl who founded the group at school, says being low-tech is like being a social misfit. But realizing she is no longer a slave to her online life, she has embraced it. 

Teenagers in the story talk about their newfound interest in sewing, poetry, history, and wandering ’round their neighborhoods. One young man says discarding his smartphone helped him “weed out who I want to be friends with. Now it takes work for me to maintain friendships.” 

While parents worry about keeping their kids safe, in this case the kids are definitely on to something. As with breaking any bad habit, August Meyrat points out at The Federalist, reducing screen time is harder to do alone. So maybe adults should learn a lesson from the Luddite Club – it only takes one to start, but rejecting Modernity can be contagious.