Yup, that's right. A member of the technology deprived (by their own choosing of course) Amish community called my house today. He asked for my dad, since he wanted to tear down a hog shed and put up a sheep pen on some property my dad owns.

You're probably thinking "Hey! The Amish aren't supposed to use phones!!" Well, that's only partly true. They don't have phones in their home and don't use them on a regular basis, but it's perfectly fine for them to use a pay phone or someone else's phone.

Anyways, my new Amish friend Levi was calling from a pay phone. It's a pay phone primarily used by the Amish. In fact, they even erected a shed around it in the typical Amish barn-raising manner.

Levi obviously didn't talk on the phone much. In fact, it was quite refreshing. He was friendly and I felt like we were in the same room. I felt like we knew each other for a long time, even though we've never met. It makes me wonder what technology has done to us? How has an invention that I've lived with my whole life formed my social skills?

And how long until I get instant messaged by an Amish person?
The Amish enjoy a good modern convenience, every now and then. Most even have refridgerators in their homes. Now, here's the part that really irks me. Many Amish people exploit a loophole in their own religious law. Since cell phones aren't connected to a land line (not directly, at least), they consider it perfectly fine to be able to own such a technological wonder as a cellular phone.

I live in Pennsylvania. A few times throughout the year, my family travels out to Amish country to get those quality Amish Homemade Goods (tm). I find it somewhat disturbing to drive past acres and acres of farm land, only to see two Amish women conversing on their Motorola Sprint PCS mobile phones.

If you're going to be Amish, don't be a half-assed Amish.

The Amish are not technophobes, rather they look at technology for what value it can bring in relation to its potential for harm. In short, "does it bring us together or draw us apart?"

In the 1920s the Amish church separated after intensive debate on the usability of the telephone. Now there are Old Amish, New Amish, and Beachy Amish, with varying degress of technological acceptance.

Many modern Amish will use cell phones, but only in certain situations and circumstances. Phones are not kept in the home, they are kept in communal shacks. Some Amish will use computers and (occasionally, rarely, in some places, in some communities) even connect to the internet. It still remains important, however, to keep basic family life simple and human powered, so as to preserve the bonds of family and community.

Does a television help to improve family life? If you think so, you're probably not Amish

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