Destruction de machines par les Luddistes (le mouvement contre la mécanisation de l'industrie textile) au Royaume-Uni, en 1811. (Photo by API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

In the XXI century, we have an insane amount of technology that only improves every day. This is a great example of the saying double-edged sword when something can be as bad as good it is. While a lot of people praise this progress, others aren’t any nearer to being happy about it.

It is hard to think that there is a big part of the population who believe that technology will eventually kill our society. Maybe they are right, maybe we were better off without it, but it is already here, and it is not going anywhere.

Believe it or not, some people decide to completely detach from technology, they make the decision to never use their phones, and rather communicate as people used to do before we had all of those smart devices. They are called Luddites, but they didn’t invent this term.

Luddism goes way back from the XIX century. It started in England, by the time the Industrial Revolution quicked society. That period marked a before and after in humanity since it was the first contact we had with actual mechanical manufacture that became a glance at the future.

The introduction of these machines was supposed firstly an improvement, but it also resulted in a lot of problems such as a big amount of people losing their jobs because they weren’t needed anymore, along with the increase of the prices of food and basic needs.

These problems were the birth of Luddism, where the first Luddites came together and showed their discontent with the machines and they started to destroy them and fight against change.

The term then evolved and became what we know today, as a homology of the original Luddites who thought industrialism was the end of humanity, and neoluddism became the opposition of all forms of technology.

Modern Luddism is a really controversial current because we are so used to technology that we really need it, but this causes us to be practically dependent on it. For some people, it is very hard to let go of social media and their devices, but it is recommended and healthy.

All beliefs have to be respected, and it is okay to want to not be attached to technology and connect with ourselves more often, if you agree with this current, maybe you can be a Luddite. Still, it is highly improbable that you were a modern luddite if you are reading this, but nothing stops you from becoming one.