Comment by 🍀 gritty
Re: "Geminauts are the Amish of the internet."
in that we eschew modern tech
Feb 10 · 3 months ago
5 Later Comments ↓
In a way, I think you are both right and wrong here :)
Amish don't eschew modern tech (and neither do geminauts). But I feel like both amish and gempeople "refuse" technology that doesn't encourage community.
I could recommend taking a look at:
— Search for 'amish' on notechmagazine.com
🐦 JustASillyBird · Feb 10 at 21:02:
My understanding is that the Amish aren't exactly anti-tech, but rather each community considers the consequences of any technology before allowing it. Their main concerns are maintaining their independence and self-sufficiency, and keeping their cultural distinctiveness. They won't allow any tech that makes their community dependent upon the outside world for consumables or spare parts. Electricity is allowed, but it has to be generated within their community. Vehicles are allowed, but only ones that their own mechanics can maintain.
They also consider the risk of technology that might change their way of life. TV, for example, is out of the question - it would expose youth to non-Amish ideas, even leading them to leave.
🐦 JustASillyBird · Feb 10 at 21:08:
Not that they are any paragons. It's still a very religiously strict, even oppressive community, and part of the tech rules is to enforce that. If they let their kids grow up with access to mass media and the internet, well... those kids aren't going to grow up Amish. From the perspective of communtity cohesion it's actually better to make sure their youth are ignorant of basic life skills in the outside world. If they have zero prospect of employment, there is no way they can be tempted to leave the community, even if they do somehow come to question their faith.
Without such strict rules, the Amish couldn't survive as the community they are. It's an enforced isolation to maintain control.
🎶If you come to visit, you'll be bored to tears
🎶We haven't even paid the phone bill in 300 years
🍀 gritty [OP] · Feb 11 at 00:12:
@lab6 good weird al reference
@jmcs - good points
Original Post
Geminauts are the Amish of the internet.
💬 6 comments · 2 likes · Feb 10 · 3 months ago · #showerThoughts