Dealing with Technological Advances
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
What I want to talk about today are several of the recent influences on our society over the last 120 years or so. These are industrial, or technological influences I guess we could say. To get straight to the point, what I am thinking of today is: the telephone, the automobile, movies, television, and the internet. What I wish to do is go through each one of these areas as it pertains to where the Amish stand on them and how it is believed that they could be, or are, problematic. It is interesting how each of these advances, if you want to call them that (depends on who you are), have changed life as we know it, how it is experienced everyday.
The Telephone
It was the early 1900s when the telephone started to really take off. As the phones spread across the countryside and made their way into farming areas, the Amish were then confronted with the choice of whether to embrace them or not. We know that initially they did not; they were rejected as too modern, too worldly. Later in time they would be allowed for business purposes to some degree, and perhaps for families to use to call doctors and whoever else was necessary. Phone shanties were introduced, and they are still used to this day. Sometimes they are at the end of driveways. Some Amish, I understand, have phones in their offices on the farm. But they are not to be inside the house because, of course, that’s too convenient. Do that and no one will talk face-to-face anymore.
What I find interesting is that there are Amish businessmen who use cell phones, or smartphones in our time for business, of course. I guess it just has to be this way. Society has become so dependent on the phone that it would probably be next to impossible for them not to have it. It would make conducting business very difficult, and in fact inconvenient. And so they use them. But what really gets me is the fact that a lot of the Amish youth are sporting smartphones in our current day. So, it’s not just the businessmen. I think it’s more of a Rumspringa thing, but one has to wonder if that exposure to them has any permanent effects that trickle down as one gets older, joins the church, and of course forfeits the smartphone use. (They aren’t allowed to have them once that become officially a member.)
In actuality, I believe the Amish have a good compromise with the telephone. They use it only for the basic necessities, only when it is absolutely necessary. That’s good because it seems consistent with their way of life. We often forget I think that they don’t want things to be overly difficult. The purpose is preservation of the good and not shunning the bad. They want to keep that face-to-face communication as much as possible. It’s not that they see the telephone as evil in and of itself, it’s that they don’t want it taking away the good that they have, that which makes them different from most others. It’s the same kind of idea in how they will ride in cars but not own one. They will use the technology, but only so long as it doesn’t harm by hurting relationships.
The Automobile
And speaking of cars, we know that also about the same time as the telephone was being introduced to the public that the car made its major introduction into the mainstream of life. Henry Ford had a lot to do with that. His low-cost Ford Model-Ts swept the country as well. And they were good off-road even. Good for farmers. It would have been tempting for the plain people back then to embrace them. We know some of them did. The more liberal Amish, and they broke away in the 1920s. But here, too, the mainstream Amish kept resilient. They kept to their ways and protected themselves.
Why do this? What is the logic behind rejecting the automobile? Well, it makes travel too easy so that one can go from one place to another very quickly. The drive is no longer enjoyed. One can be to another’s in nothing flat. This means people can live farther apart. If one lives 20 miles away, it’s not a problem. Probably a little over a 20 minute drive. Horse and buggy can’t do that. That would be too far. At least, all the time. So, people have to live close to each other. I think this is a good thing by the way. This is something the Amish definitely have that’s appealing, how all the members of a church district live really close by to each other. Interactions only become natural at that point. Interestingly, there is no effort exerted then in making those interactions happen.
We are creatures of convenience. We’ve heard in the real estate world that it’s all about location, location, location. We’ll I’ve always stuck to that; I really believe it is. I think that’s generally experientially true. That’s because we go to the homes of others where it is generally easy to get there—or at least, go there more. If someone in my life is 30 to 45 minutes away from where I live, I am naturally going to go there less because it takes too much of my time in traveling. It’s not easy. Say all you want about it, but this is what I have found to be true. Unless you’re particularly driven, unless there is a really good reason or persuasion, one doesn’t travel far distances usually for the fun of it. We want to be able to visit someone and then get home in an adequate amount of time.
Then with automobiles there’s the whole problem of the flashiness. The glamour. People have all different kinds of cars, and they show different personality traits and various statuses within society. We can make a statement by the kind of car we drive, whether that is in how we want to be seen or how much we want others to know we have or make. The Amish, on the other hand, why their road vehicles all look almost identically the same. The average person can’t tell them apart. They are usually the same within a community. Usually black or gray (though there are other communities with other colors). It is all collective in focus. Individualism has been tossed out the window, except for perhaps some different color in seat material or arrangement of lights on the outside.
Movies
Also in the early 1900s came the advent of the motion picture business. Movies. Movie theaters. They began to popup all over the place—in the small towns. Americans were enthralled by the whole thing. Actors became even bigger celebrities from back when there use to just be plays. The video camera made it possible for the same movies to be shown and re-shown. Much more efficient. Didn’t have to re-act the plays over and over (though, I’m sure there was some good in that because details were always slightly different—the voice tones, the steps, the movements, etc). Now it wasn’t just plays anymore, people had a new, much more exciting form of entertainment.
This also the Amish rejected. Though, I’m pretty sure they had already rejected plays. I think. Anyway, motion pictures were just not to be. Contemplating about it, it just doesn’t really fit their plain way anyway. They're viewed as vain, a big time waster in their eyes. They could cause people to look at things they actually don’t want to look at. And even for the average English person, I suppose movies do this for everyone. There is always something that is presented to us that we would rather not see (or hear), whatever that is. Too much exposure to bad things. So, why not avoid it altogether it is deducted. So, that’s what they choose to do, and have done. And it works. Eliminate the source of temptation and you don’t have to worry about the actual temptation—at least, externally. Not internally though. (Back to this discussion in a minute.)
One interesting thing, as we are on this subject, is the fact that the Amish protested the making of the movie titled “The Witness” starring Harrison Ford. This was in the 80s. The Amish didn’t believe it was right they were being depicted in the film—or how they were depicted. Whatever it exactly was? Personally, I have never seen the movie as a result. I figured that if the plain people were so strongly against it that I’d just skip it, at least for now. Maybe someday I’ll watch it, I don’t know. As an aside, it is interesting to consider the Amish protesting anything, though, I think they do at least. We can recall how they stood up strongly for there one-room school houses back in the day, in the 40s through the 60s it seems like it was.
Television
Television took the movies one step further. They brought the movie theater into the home and placed it in everyone’s living room. Pretty incredible if you stop and think about it. If you consider what it actually did. That meant that reoccurring programs could be shown day after day, week after week. Why, even movies themselves could be displayed on the TV, and certainly were eventually. Of course, TVs require electricity, so perhaps this was a pretty easy thing to reject for the Amish. I mean, they already didn’t do theatre, and didn’t go to movies. So, why not reject the TV? Of course, that was a no-brainer. It only flowed in the natural course of things.
Undoubtedly, then, again the temptation and separation from the world as regards TV is a major factor for the Amish, just like with the movie theatre. Even some English people are concerned about the tube (and movies as well) because of various programs that don't follow proper moral standards. But we need to consider that other forms of media have undesirable areas as well. Lack of TV for the Amish doesn’t mean total freedom from any temptations or world influence in their free time, as might be assumed by some. An Amish person instead of watching TV could spend all their time reading fictional books they shouldn’t be reading. Like, let's say, trashy fiction. Perhaps a few do. And they could easily hide it. Well, maybe.
Internet
Now for the big one. Well, actually, while it’s big, it’s not necessarily bigger than the others. Though perhaps it’s the hardest for anyone to detach themselves from. The internet has become so tied into everything. Since it has gone into full swing over the last 25 years it has really made everything different, from the way people communicate, to the way they shop. Physical changes in people’s lives have occurred. It is no longer necessary to walk in a physical store a lot of times. What one wants can just be gotten by the tap or click of a button, and then it appears at one’s door two or three days later. Quite incredible. Well, I’m sure it seemed that way in the beginning. It did for me when I was a little kid and it took six weeks to get my Batman figurines from the J.C. Penney catalogue.
All one has to do is search the Internet to realize a lot of Amish businesses have made use of websites whereby people can order their products. This expands business not only from their central location in a physical sense, but now they are able to reach people far and wide. Though, there could be that temptation to become too big, and certainly that is monitored by the owner of the business and perhaps even their church. But where a business might have done modestly in the past, now it can do very well with the use of the Internet. This must be the case. And since Amish owners obviously outsource the building of the websites, and probably a lot of the maintaining of them (if not all of it), they don’t have to worry about doing the technical side of things.
Going back to the use of smartphones, especially among the youth, it seems troublesome that they are embracing the use of mobile apps like Facebook and Twitter, as well as the exposure to advertisements that has to come with all that smartphone Internet use. Perhaps it could be argued that the Amish youth in Rumspringa sees more of the outside world than ever before in the past due to the smartphone. One can see what is out there simply by a few taps. People can communicate more discretely without others knowing, like parents. I think it changes the dynamics to some extent. Since the smartphone hasn’t been around that long, about 15 years, we probably don’t know the extent of the effect (if any). It just seems to be that it would be hard for them to leave all that worldly stuff and become a member of the Amish church after seeing it. And yet many still do.
Conclusion
So, we see how the Amish have dealt with the advent of the telephone, automobiles, movies, television, and finally the Internet over the past 120 years. It is quite amazing that despite all this technology, they have still stayed on the tried and true way. Sure, we could have talked about the technological changes in the kitchen—the microwave, coffee machines, blenders, etc, and how Amish view those items. We also could have discussed technological changes on the farming scene (though I personally don’t know quite as much about that off the top of my head). We could think of the milk tanks, the tractors, the automatic waterers (whatever they're called), etc. While some things have been embraced in a very limited fashion, the plain people have stuck true to their old fashioned ways for the most part. And their way of life continues to thrive.
- Daniel Litton
To comment on this post, tap here to go to the comments page.
The Telephone
It was the early 1900s when the telephone started to really take off. As the phones spread across the countryside and made their way into farming areas, the Amish were then confronted with the choice of whether to embrace them or not. We know that initially they did not; they were rejected as too modern, too worldly. Later in time they would be allowed for business purposes to some degree, and perhaps for families to use to call doctors and whoever else was necessary. Phone shanties were introduced, and they are still used to this day. Sometimes they are at the end of driveways. Some Amish, I understand, have phones in their offices on the farm. But they are not to be inside the house because, of course, that’s too convenient. Do that and no one will talk face-to-face anymore.
What I find interesting is that there are Amish businessmen who use cell phones, or smartphones in our time for business, of course. I guess it just has to be this way. Society has become so dependent on the phone that it would probably be next to impossible for them not to have it. It would make conducting business very difficult, and in fact inconvenient. And so they use them. But what really gets me is the fact that a lot of the Amish youth are sporting smartphones in our current day. So, it’s not just the businessmen. I think it’s more of a Rumspringa thing, but one has to wonder if that exposure to them has any permanent effects that trickle down as one gets older, joins the church, and of course forfeits the smartphone use. (They aren’t allowed to have them once that become officially a member.)
In actuality, I believe the Amish have a good compromise with the telephone. They use it only for the basic necessities, only when it is absolutely necessary. That’s good because it seems consistent with their way of life. We often forget I think that they don’t want things to be overly difficult. The purpose is preservation of the good and not shunning the bad. They want to keep that face-to-face communication as much as possible. It’s not that they see the telephone as evil in and of itself, it’s that they don’t want it taking away the good that they have, that which makes them different from most others. It’s the same kind of idea in how they will ride in cars but not own one. They will use the technology, but only so long as it doesn’t harm by hurting relationships.
The Automobile
And speaking of cars, we know that also about the same time as the telephone was being introduced to the public that the car made its major introduction into the mainstream of life. Henry Ford had a lot to do with that. His low-cost Ford Model-Ts swept the country as well. And they were good off-road even. Good for farmers. It would have been tempting for the plain people back then to embrace them. We know some of them did. The more liberal Amish, and they broke away in the 1920s. But here, too, the mainstream Amish kept resilient. They kept to their ways and protected themselves.
Why do this? What is the logic behind rejecting the automobile? Well, it makes travel too easy so that one can go from one place to another very quickly. The drive is no longer enjoyed. One can be to another’s in nothing flat. This means people can live farther apart. If one lives 20 miles away, it’s not a problem. Probably a little over a 20 minute drive. Horse and buggy can’t do that. That would be too far. At least, all the time. So, people have to live close to each other. I think this is a good thing by the way. This is something the Amish definitely have that’s appealing, how all the members of a church district live really close by to each other. Interactions only become natural at that point. Interestingly, there is no effort exerted then in making those interactions happen.
We are creatures of convenience. We’ve heard in the real estate world that it’s all about location, location, location. We’ll I’ve always stuck to that; I really believe it is. I think that’s generally experientially true. That’s because we go to the homes of others where it is generally easy to get there—or at least, go there more. If someone in my life is 30 to 45 minutes away from where I live, I am naturally going to go there less because it takes too much of my time in traveling. It’s not easy. Say all you want about it, but this is what I have found to be true. Unless you’re particularly driven, unless there is a really good reason or persuasion, one doesn’t travel far distances usually for the fun of it. We want to be able to visit someone and then get home in an adequate amount of time.
Then with automobiles there’s the whole problem of the flashiness. The glamour. People have all different kinds of cars, and they show different personality traits and various statuses within society. We can make a statement by the kind of car we drive, whether that is in how we want to be seen or how much we want others to know we have or make. The Amish, on the other hand, why their road vehicles all look almost identically the same. The average person can’t tell them apart. They are usually the same within a community. Usually black or gray (though there are other communities with other colors). It is all collective in focus. Individualism has been tossed out the window, except for perhaps some different color in seat material or arrangement of lights on the outside.
Movies
Also in the early 1900s came the advent of the motion picture business. Movies. Movie theaters. They began to popup all over the place—in the small towns. Americans were enthralled by the whole thing. Actors became even bigger celebrities from back when there use to just be plays. The video camera made it possible for the same movies to be shown and re-shown. Much more efficient. Didn’t have to re-act the plays over and over (though, I’m sure there was some good in that because details were always slightly different—the voice tones, the steps, the movements, etc). Now it wasn’t just plays anymore, people had a new, much more exciting form of entertainment.
This also the Amish rejected. Though, I’m pretty sure they had already rejected plays. I think. Anyway, motion pictures were just not to be. Contemplating about it, it just doesn’t really fit their plain way anyway. They're viewed as vain, a big time waster in their eyes. They could cause people to look at things they actually don’t want to look at. And even for the average English person, I suppose movies do this for everyone. There is always something that is presented to us that we would rather not see (or hear), whatever that is. Too much exposure to bad things. So, why not avoid it altogether it is deducted. So, that’s what they choose to do, and have done. And it works. Eliminate the source of temptation and you don’t have to worry about the actual temptation—at least, externally. Not internally though. (Back to this discussion in a minute.)
One interesting thing, as we are on this subject, is the fact that the Amish protested the making of the movie titled “The Witness” starring Harrison Ford. This was in the 80s. The Amish didn’t believe it was right they were being depicted in the film—or how they were depicted. Whatever it exactly was? Personally, I have never seen the movie as a result. I figured that if the plain people were so strongly against it that I’d just skip it, at least for now. Maybe someday I’ll watch it, I don’t know. As an aside, it is interesting to consider the Amish protesting anything, though, I think they do at least. We can recall how they stood up strongly for there one-room school houses back in the day, in the 40s through the 60s it seems like it was.
Television
Television took the movies one step further. They brought the movie theater into the home and placed it in everyone’s living room. Pretty incredible if you stop and think about it. If you consider what it actually did. That meant that reoccurring programs could be shown day after day, week after week. Why, even movies themselves could be displayed on the TV, and certainly were eventually. Of course, TVs require electricity, so perhaps this was a pretty easy thing to reject for the Amish. I mean, they already didn’t do theatre, and didn’t go to movies. So, why not reject the TV? Of course, that was a no-brainer. It only flowed in the natural course of things.
Undoubtedly, then, again the temptation and separation from the world as regards TV is a major factor for the Amish, just like with the movie theatre. Even some English people are concerned about the tube (and movies as well) because of various programs that don't follow proper moral standards. But we need to consider that other forms of media have undesirable areas as well. Lack of TV for the Amish doesn’t mean total freedom from any temptations or world influence in their free time, as might be assumed by some. An Amish person instead of watching TV could spend all their time reading fictional books they shouldn’t be reading. Like, let's say, trashy fiction. Perhaps a few do. And they could easily hide it. Well, maybe.
Internet
Now for the big one. Well, actually, while it’s big, it’s not necessarily bigger than the others. Though perhaps it’s the hardest for anyone to detach themselves from. The internet has become so tied into everything. Since it has gone into full swing over the last 25 years it has really made everything different, from the way people communicate, to the way they shop. Physical changes in people’s lives have occurred. It is no longer necessary to walk in a physical store a lot of times. What one wants can just be gotten by the tap or click of a button, and then it appears at one’s door two or three days later. Quite incredible. Well, I’m sure it seemed that way in the beginning. It did for me when I was a little kid and it took six weeks to get my Batman figurines from the J.C. Penney catalogue.
All one has to do is search the Internet to realize a lot of Amish businesses have made use of websites whereby people can order their products. This expands business not only from their central location in a physical sense, but now they are able to reach people far and wide. Though, there could be that temptation to become too big, and certainly that is monitored by the owner of the business and perhaps even their church. But where a business might have done modestly in the past, now it can do very well with the use of the Internet. This must be the case. And since Amish owners obviously outsource the building of the websites, and probably a lot of the maintaining of them (if not all of it), they don’t have to worry about doing the technical side of things.
Going back to the use of smartphones, especially among the youth, it seems troublesome that they are embracing the use of mobile apps like Facebook and Twitter, as well as the exposure to advertisements that has to come with all that smartphone Internet use. Perhaps it could be argued that the Amish youth in Rumspringa sees more of the outside world than ever before in the past due to the smartphone. One can see what is out there simply by a few taps. People can communicate more discretely without others knowing, like parents. I think it changes the dynamics to some extent. Since the smartphone hasn’t been around that long, about 15 years, we probably don’t know the extent of the effect (if any). It just seems to be that it would be hard for them to leave all that worldly stuff and become a member of the Amish church after seeing it. And yet many still do.
Conclusion
So, we see how the Amish have dealt with the advent of the telephone, automobiles, movies, television, and finally the Internet over the past 120 years. It is quite amazing that despite all this technology, they have still stayed on the tried and true way. Sure, we could have talked about the technological changes in the kitchen—the microwave, coffee machines, blenders, etc, and how Amish view those items. We also could have discussed technological changes on the farming scene (though I personally don’t know quite as much about that off the top of my head). We could think of the milk tanks, the tractors, the automatic waterers (whatever they're called), etc. While some things have been embraced in a very limited fashion, the plain people have stuck true to their old fashioned ways for the most part. And their way of life continues to thrive.
- Daniel Litton
To comment on this post, tap here to go to the comments page.