What is a Luddite and am I one?

Attention, attention! New word coming in, at least for me :D.

To all the native speakers: please bear with me if I get it wrong, I will do my best to avoid any mistakes :-)

A while ago, I had this recurring conversation with a friend; it was about AI tools and technologies in general. We shared our takes on it & he said at some point, that I sound like a “Luddite”. I had no idea what it is, so he explained to me that it is someone that despises of technology, doesn’t want to use it & be in touch with it, generally pushes it away.

I disagreed to that and said that I do not believe that I am a Luddite, cos I use technology. I have a smartphone, a computer, a laptop, an iPad, I use certain software to make my scientific illustrations, I have digital ID Apps, online banking, I even got swish (an immediate money transfer app in Sweden) even though a bit late, I still installed it at some point…

…yeah, I don’t use the most recent AI tools, I don’t have Spotify, neither do I have a Netflix account, I don’t use any earplugs, I have no smart TV-stuffs cos I don’t watch TV, neither do I have an Alexa, I prefer to go to actual stores over online stores, I don’t constantly hang on social media and I don’t play video games… All this doesn’t make me a Luddite though.

But because I am very curious & like to learn, I started to google the definition of a Luddite. HA! I use the internet to get to knowledge, not just books ;-). And this is what I found:

According to several definitions on the Internet, Luddites were a group of Englishmen in the 19th century, working in the textile industry as e.g. weavers or spinners. When suddenly the industrial revolution came around with spinning machines, they got upset, protested & started to destroy those new emerging machines as their felt threatened in their livelihood.

(So no, I am not a Luddite, cos I don’t go around, smashing computers, factories or any other technologies :-D)

Not all Luddites were aggressive, some people started to get together & tried to collaborate with the new emerging technologies, incorporating and combining certain aspects of their work.

(Yeah, that sounds more like me, so maybe I am a pacifistic Luddite?)

I also found an article that states: “Questioning doesn’t mean rejecting: Contrary to popular belief, the original Luddites were not anti-technology, nor were they technologically incompetent. Rather…” Feel free to read the full article here: https://theconversation.com/whats-a-luddite-an-expert-on-technology-and-society-explains-203653

I very much resonate with it, so based on its original meaning, I seem indeed to be a Luddite :-D

Now that I have clarified the meaning of this word, gone back & forth weather I am a Luddite or not, I thought to share some more personal thoughts on technology, digital tools, screens etc…