In her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Barbara Kingsolver visits Amish friends on their farm while investigating issues of local food production. Having preconceived notions about the Amish being fundamentally “anti-technology” I was intrigued to read that this family uses a mechanical milking machine for their cows. My reaction illustrates a common misconception about the Amish people and how they choose which technologies to adopt and which to reject.
It turns out that the Amish are not anti-technology; they are just extremely careful about which technologies they incorporate into their daily lives. Each technological possibility goes through a system of rigorous debate, exploration, and consideration while the communities decide whether or not the item will enhance or degrade their core values.
In the case of the milking machine it was decided that adoption of the technology would allow women and children to participate more fully in the physically demanding work of milking, bringing families closer together and allowing them to share household duties more fairly. In contrast, television is seen as a distraction from the values of hard work, family, community, and devotion to God, so it is outlawed.
I was stunned by this elegant system of technological evaluation. While my own core values differ from those of the Amish it seemed that a similar system of judgment could be applied to my use of technology. I wondered what might happen if people stepped back and fully considered the implications of their gadget use before cluttering up their lives with every newfangled thing that hits the market. I tried this out on myself with Facebook as my subject.
Facebook and I have been in a rocky relationship for awhile. After three years of addiction style use I began to wonder if my life was made better through my ability to monitor every latte consumed and every disappointment suffered by my 200 “Friends.” In terms of friendships my goals are to develop meaningful, lasting relationships with people who challenge me to reach my potential and who participate in a mutual system of support, encouragement, and acceptance.
With the Amish as inspiration I asked myself if Facebook was supporting these goals and had to admit to myself that this social networking star was actually degrading my core friendship values. My Facebook friends were mainly illusory, the relationships superficial, and the only character building challenges came in the form of invitations to join FarmVille or find out which Twilight character I was. In the end I was forced to admit that this platform developed for the purpose of creating networks and connections between people was not fulfilling its promise.
So as an experiment I ditched it. Rather than ignoring the clash between my Facebook usage and my core beliefs about what constitutes friendship, I pressed the terrifying “delete account” button. And that was all. Facebook disappeared from my life leaving room in its wake for new networking opportunities that may be a better fit for me.
It’s been over two months now since I pulled the plug and I can’t say that I miss Facebook. Just weeks ago I might have been blindly perusing Facebook at this very moment. But instead I’m writing, reading, pondering, deciding how to live more fully in this world and find meaning in everyday life. Life isn’t always made better by the addition of one more technological gem. Sometimes “advancement” doesn’t equal “betterment.” Sometimes a pen, a piece of paper, and a stamp are all you really need.
Photo Credit
“Amish Buggy Ride: Amish buggy near the northern Indiana Amish community of Shipshewana” puliarf @ Flickr.com. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.
“The Evolution of My Facebook Pic on Grass” [f]oxymoron @ Flickr.com. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.
Amish America says
Hi Andrea, you are right that Amish do not reject technology outright, but do accept certain technologies. Amish also see a difference in some cases between usage and ownership–ie, using a car in the form of getting a ride is usually acceptable, while owning one is not.
The title of your piece caught my eye, as what may seem odd is that some Amish actually do use computers, email, and even Facebook in some uncommon cases. If you’re interested here is a bit more on how and why: http://amishamerica.com/do-the-amish-use-computers-and-the-internet/
Erik
Andrea K. Paterson says
Hi Erik,
Thanks so much for this link. It definitely adds to my knowledge of the relationship between the Amish people and technology. What I find interesting about the system is that nothing is rejected outright and even if a technology (like computers) is generally avoided, the Amish are still open to investigating its usefulness in each individual situation. So while some Amish may find a good justifiable use for Facebook, my own investigation has left me without a justifiable reason for using it. In the end it’s all about context, and I find that really fascinating.
Kerry Slavens says
For years, many people mocked the Amish and their so-called “backward” ways but as the minimalism movement gains momentum in society, the Amish begin to seem not backward but wise.
Thank you Andrea for telling us more about a fascinating culture and making me think about my heavily “connected” life. Reading your post was a breath of fresh air.
Andrea K. Paterson says
Thanks Kerry–I agree–I think that there is much we can learn from the Amish and others who strive to live in ways that honour the environment and the structures of community and family. We’re all tending to get a bit lost in our technological innovations so it’s nice to look at examples of people living with fewer distractions and see where we might incorporate aspects of their life philosophies into our own modes of living.