For IntoMobile readers the idea of living a life without a top of the line smartphone connected to a 4G network is about as welcoming as poking one’s eyes out. For Amish people however, they’ve made a lifestyle choice to not only live without mobile phones, but also without cars, electricity, and other such technologies that all of us associate with a modern way of living. Kids will be kids however, and some Amish youths are breaking the rules of their communities by not only getting a mobile phone, but using them to interact on social networks. There are an estimated “several hundred” Amish kids on Facebook from Lancaster County, which equates to between 1% and 2% of the population; they’re obviously the rebels.
This story wouldn’t have caught our attention if it weren’t for the pedestal that many media organizations and corporations put social networking services on. The recent “Arab Spring” in the middle east that saw people rebelling against their government using tools like Facebook and Twitter is a testament to how powerful a status message can be. Should Amish kids then be allowed to use the same technology? It’s not for us to decide since their communities dictate what is and isn’t allowed, but if you had to ask our honest opinion, we’d say no. Every minute one spends using social media is time that could have better been used raising a barn, milking a cow, or just interacting with your neighbors. If the kids don’t like the rules that have been thrust upon them then they can always leave their community and join the “real world”. The ones who are breaking the rules are likely to leave once they become adults anyway.
What we’d like to know is why are operators covering Lancaster County with wireless data in the first place? Seems like a waste of money.