"Mobile internet is worse than the internet; it can destroy our community": Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women's responses to cellphone and smartphone use. Issue 1 (1st January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shahar, Rivka Neriya-Ben
• Is Part Of: Information society. Volume 36:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 18
• Publication Date: 2020-01-01
• Subjects: Apparatgeist -- attachment -- cellphone -- context collapse -- nonuse -- old order Amish -- separation individuation -- smartphone -- ultra-orthodox -- women; Technology -- Social aspects; Information storage and retrieval systems -- Social aspects; Information science -- Periodicals; Sciences de l'information -- Périodiques; 303.483
• DOI: 10.1080/01972243.2019.1685037
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0197-2243

Abstract

Abstract: In this article I explore use patterns and perceptions of cellphone and smartphone use among Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women with participant observations, interviews, and a survey. My findings show that although they differ in their cellphone use (the Amish mostly do not use them and the Ultra-Orthodox only use those deemed to be "kosher"), they concur in their nonuse of smartphones – they see the smartphone as impure. Both view smartphones as undermining social relations and community by distracting users away from friends and family.