#blackboxphone — Public Fediverse posts

How the #Amish Let #Technology in Without Letting It Take Over

After three years studying the community, I came to see that the real question isn't what technology can do, but what it asks us to give up.

By: Lindsay Ems, July 27, 2026

Excerpt: "I first began studying the Amish in 2012 as a doctoral researcher of media studies at Indiana University, located within a few hours of settlements in Elkhart, LaGrange, and Daviess counties. Going into the project, I knew what most everyone else did: that the Amish prized simple living, communal values, and religious discipline, while resisting certain technologies such as cars, TV, and electricity. In my initial conversations with Amish leaders, they told me that they were worried that new technology might diminish the sense of purpose people in their communities feel. They worried that new communication tools, such as smartphones and social media, would disrupt rituals, traditions, and their established communication patterns. Above all, they wanted to preserve their shared culture in which each person felt spiritually connected to their neighbors and the #NaturalWorld."

[...]

"In Joe’s settlement, the #BlackBoxPhone was developed in response to a very specific social problem: Roughly 100 crews left the settlement daily for their construction jobs and needed a way to communicate while away from home. At the same time, several ministers believed that the cell phones already adopted by many community members should be abandoned. They worried that private text messages could facilitate extramarital relationships. And #smartphones, they feared, tempted users to access unfiltered, immoral content such as pornography, which could undermine human intimacy.

"The black-box phone, by contrast, was a happy medium that posed threats to community members’ social and spiritual health. Its design reflects that: The phone is an intentionally bulked-up contraption that enables mobile communications from a vehicle but is highly inconvenient to carry. It only allows public, audible conversations — no texting or internet access. It is also shared among the crew members. Ministers in the settlement hoped that adopting these devices would make individual cell phone ownership among their constituents unnecessary.

"As a substitute for cell phones, the black-box phone is a distinctively Amish modification of an existing technology that better aligns with their values. It forces public communicative arrangements, allowing peers to hold each other accountable for their actions. Additionally, this device enables the Amish to achieve their goals and adhere to their social norms without submitting to the individualizing, privatizing, and attention-fragmenting logic of #BigTech."

Read more:
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-the-amish-let-technology-in-without-letting-it-take-over/

#SolarPunkSunday #LowTech #LoTech #SmartPhoneAddiction #TechAddiction #Communication #Luddite #Connections #ConnectingWithCommunity #ConnectingWithNature

How the #Amish Let #Technology in Without Letting It Take Over

After three years studying the community, I came to see that the real question isn't what technology can do, but what it asks us to give up.

By: Lindsay Ems, July 27, 2026

Excerpt: "I first began studying the Amish in 2012 as a doctoral researcher of media studies at Indiana University, located within a few hours of settlements in Elkhart, LaGrange, and Daviess counties. Going into the project, I knew what most everyone else did: that the Amish prized simple living, communal values, and religious discipline, while resisting certain technologies such as cars, TV, and electricity. In my initial conversations with Amish leaders, they told me that they were worried that new technology might diminish the sense of purpose people in their communities feel. They worried that new communication tools, such as smartphones and social media, would disrupt rituals, traditions, and their established communication patterns. Above all, they wanted to preserve their shared culture in which each person felt spiritually connected to their neighbors and the #NaturalWorld."

[...]

"In Joe’s settlement, the #BlackBoxPhone was developed in response to a very specific social problem: Roughly 100 crews left the settlement daily for their construction jobs and needed a way to communicate while away from home. At the same time, several ministers believed that the cell phones already adopted by many community members should be abandoned. They worried that private text messages could facilitate extramarital relationships. And #smartphones, they feared, tempted users to access unfiltered, immoral content such as pornography, which could undermine human intimacy.

"The black-box phone, by contrast, was a happy medium that posed threats to community members’ social and spiritual health. Its design reflects that: The phone is an intentionally bulked-up contraption that enables mobile communications from a vehicle but is highly inconvenient to carry. It only allows public, audible conversations — no texting or internet access. It is also shared among the crew members. Ministers in the settlement hoped that adopting these devices would make individual cell phone ownership among their constituents unnecessary.

"As a substitute for cell phones, the black-box phone is a distinctively Amish modification of an existing technology that better aligns with their values. It forces public communicative arrangements, allowing peers to hold each other accountable for their actions. Additionally, this device enables the Amish to achieve their goals and adhere to their social norms without submitting to the individualizing, privatizing, and attention-fragmenting logic of #BigTech."

Read more:
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-the-amish-let-technology-in-without-letting-it-take-over/

#SolarPunkSunday #LowTech #LoTech #SmartPhoneAddiction #TechAddiction #Communication #Luddite #Connections #ConnectingWithCommunity #ConnectingWithNature