I’ve been interviewing people who take digital sabbaths, and I’ve run across something interesting: without prompting, whether we’re talking live or via email, almost everyone says “I’m not a Luddite” when describing themselves.

Why is this? It’s always interesting when people volunteer descriptive bits like this, and the fact that it’s so common makes it even more intriguing.

question mark @ SFO, via flickr

Clearly they’re not just saying “I’m not anti-technology;” the people who take digital sabbaths are, overwhelmingly, people who work in tech-intensive industries, and spend hours a day online. Maybe it’s a reflection of a sensibility that in these worlds, any kind of move from the bleeding edge is suspect. If you already believe that not getting the latest version of the iPhone puts you one step away from becoming a goatherd in Mongolia, developing a conscious program to unplug everything on a regular basis makes you look positively Cro-Magnon, if not Neanderthal.