Are you a neo-luddite?

Sometimes called ATEs - anti-technology extremists - neo-luddites are those who resist the rapid pace of technological advancement. Neo-luddism is a world view highly critical of the perceived benefits of technological change, a skepticism which sees the pace of progress as harmful to man.

The movement officially began in early 19th century England. These British luddites were textile artisans who protested changes of the industrial revolution by destroying modern equipment which left them without jobs. The new automated looms could be operated by unskilled, cheap labor. Ned Ludd (if he existed beyond legend) was a weaver who in 1779 smashed a knitting frame.

Today's neo-luddites vary in the degree and targets of their objections; many focus on computer technology. It may be as simple as sticking to dial-up Internet or sending letters through the post office rather than email (I do miss letters). Some are moderate, such as the Reform Luddites, acknowledging the benefits of technology and the necessity of change for societal growth, but advocating limits in the form of critical analysis.

In other words, just because we can doesn't mean we should.

Luddites have included famous thinkers such as Henry David Thoreau, who advocated unaltered nature. Jonathan Swift in "Gulliver's Travels" ridiculed scientific societies. Then there is the infamous Theodore Kaczynksi, a.k.a., the Unabomber, author of "Industrial Society and its Future:"

"The industrial revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have ...destabilized society, have made life unfulfilled, have subjected human beings to indignities... and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world."

At the other extreme is technophilia, the idea that technology can and will remedy all of society's problems.

Technology affects all aspects of society, including the arts. The other day my husband cut short his workout because he couldn't stand the music at the gym, a hip-hop/techno mix at high volume. John Philip Sousa would concur; when the phonograph was invented, Sousa predicted:

"(A) marked deterioration in American music and musical taste, an interruption in the musical development of the country, and a host of other injuries to music in its artistic manifestation, by virtue - or rather by vice, - of the multiplication of the various music-producing machines."

Never one to advocate extremes, I fall somewhere in the middle. Still, it is nice to have Rameau playing on my laptop as I write.

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network who wishes cell phones and social media had never been invented. Email sholehjo@hotmail.com