TECH

Why gen Z has turned against technology and big tech

Hundreds of people gathered in New York between late June and early July to participate in "Summer of Ludd," a series of free events teaching city residents how to live with less technology. Held primarily in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, the festival featured workshops, plays, and discussions on reducing reliance on mobile phones, social media, and artificial intelligence.

Photography, recording, and the use of mobile phones were prohibited during the activities, and none of the events were advertised online; instead, promotion relied on posters and flyers distributed throughout the neighborhood. This report comes from the American magazine *WIRED*.

The festival's name alludes to Luddism, a movement of artisans and weavers who, in the early 19th century, resisted the replacement of their labor by machines during England's Industrial Revolution. Today, the term "Luddite" has resurfaced to describe those who question technology's central role in daily life, even without rejecting it entirely.

Dissatisfaction among a generation raised online...The movement has attracted primarily young people from Generation Z—the first generation to grow up entirely in the digital age. A Pew Research Center survey released in 2025 shows that 48% of American teens interviewed in 2024 stated that social media has a negative impact on people their age, up from 32% in 2022.

A highlight of the program was the play *Luddite Recreations*, which retells the history of the Luddite movement to an audience of around 300 people. The schedule also included hands-on workshops, such as an amateur radio class and walks designed for "flirting without dating apps." An organization called the School of Radical Attention—dedicated to discussing the effects of digital platforms on human attention—also participated in the activities. The festival organizers prefer to remain anonymous and address the public through a puppet named Gowanus—a sort of blue-cloth spokesperson. According to Gowanus, the group consists of "organizers with no formal affiliation who noticed similar issues regarding isolation and over-reliance on big tech companies," and they began planning "Summer of Ludd" in January.

"We believe the event is a vehicle for social change, where people can meet in physical space," Gowanus stated. "When we try to organize online, Mark Zuckerberg’s eyes and Silicon Valley’s fingers are all over the sacred interactions of our lives."

Participants interviewed by WIRED shared personal experiences regarding stepping away from screens. Student Staoue, who preferred not to give her last name, said she became interested in the subject after switching from computer science to the humanities. According to her, the fast pace imposed by technology drives people to scroll through screens as a way to cope with stress, when they could instead be learning a language or a new hobby.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Mara McGuire highlighted the value of direct contact with others. "What interested me most was the emphasis on human connection and gaining new perspectives by going out into the world," she said.

A former employee of a major tech company, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, reported quitting his job after company leadership began encouraging non-technical staff to write code using artificial intelligence tools and deploy that code into production. He described the practice as a cause for concern for those working in systems security.

A broader movement rejecting technology...The New York festival is part of a wider trend of rejecting certain uses of technology. Dating apps are losing ground to in-person meetups—such as those organized by running clubs—according to a report by Forbes. Graduation speeches extolling artificial intelligence have also been met with boos from students at recent ceremonies in the United States.

According to Andrew Maynard, a professor of advanced technology transitions at Arizona State University, the original Luddite movement was driven by labor concerns rather than a blanket rejection of technology. Even so, he acknowledges that the term's current usage aptly describes those who resist technology's encroachment on their autonomy. However, the researcher believes such movements are unlikely to significantly alter people's day-to-day behavior.

Damian Thomas, the developer behind Unplatform—a site that aggregates alternatives to social media—took part in the festival's activities and noted that his professional background drew him to the subject. In his view, just as 19th-century Luddites relied on machines controlled by third parties, today's technology also concentrates power in the hands of a few companies. According to Thomas, most people won't abandon social media overnight, but they can adopt habits and tools that gradually reduce that dependency.

"We are where public opinion is," Thomas said, summarizing the movement's reach among those who did not directly participate in the festival.

Gen Z is leading a pushback against technology because they are seeking to regain control over their attention, mental health, and privacy. Having grown up immersed in the digital world, they are deeply aware of algorithmic manipulation, the pressure of social media performance, and the threat of artificial intelligence to human creativity and job security.

Digital fatigue and burnout: Young people report exhaustion from the constant A/B testing, metrics-driven validation, and performative curation popularized by older millennials.

Mental health concerns: Extensive research shows constant connectivity degrades mental health and shortens attention spans. Gen Z has grown increasingly critical of the platforms they use, with Pew Research noting a massive jump in teens stating social media has a negative effect.

The "dumbphone" trend: Seeking relief from constant notifications and toxic algorithms, many Gen Zers are voluntarily downgrading to basic, feature-limited "dumbphones". The resurgence of single-use devices like film cameras, standalone MP3 players, and paper planners is part of a broader shift toward digital minimalism.

Job displacement fears: The rapid push for AI automation has sparked major anxieties about the future of entry-level jobs and the stability of the modern workforce.

Erosion of authenticity: Young people fear that AI is eroding the quality of real human interaction and flooding the internet with low-quality, fabricated content.

Workplace resistance: A significant portion of Gen Z employees are deeply distrustful of corporate AI initiatives. Surveys have revealed that many deliberately resist or subvert their company's AI integration to protest job displacement and the paradoxical increase in their workload

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