I held out for as long as I could but it seems inevitable that in the near future, I will have to surrender.

For the moment, I’m holding firm. People around me don’t understand what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. Me, on the other hand can’t see how they cannot. They think I’m mad. I’m behind the times.

I’m a Luddite.

I’m talking about things that others take for granted such as paying for things through their phone, ordering everything through Amazon or using anything Uber related as examples.

I do none of that. I steadfastly refused to. Of course I know HOW to.

I just CHOOSE to not to.

When I see that these create convenience in our lives at the expense of people losing jobs and livelihoods or forcing their companies onto platforms where workers have eroding work conditions – I simply don’t want to be part of it and yet society will force me to. There’ll be no other choice BUT to go to these in the near future because they will/are normalised and where the platforms have swallowed up all competition.

For now, I’m resisting for as long as possible.

A few weeks back I finally succumbed to having my credit card onto my phone for Apple Pay. A week later, I wanted it removed but it didn’t allow me as I had ONE subscription on the phone that uses it. At that instant, I had lost the control of choosing to remove my credit card. They didn’t even give me that. (I’m now thinking of removing that subscription).

When I tell people I don’t use my phone for banking, they think I’m mad. I’m behind the times.

I’m a Luddite.

Similarly I refuse to use Uber. I remember in Florida a few years back, it was the preferred way to travel and I remember the hordes of crowds that came out of the conference centre to mill around waiting for Ubers to take them to their hotels. Meanwhile I had learned the bus route and used buses to get back to my hotel for just $2 and a far scenic route. However, more and more Uber just seems to be how people get around.

When I talk about taxis, they or public transport, they look at me as if I’m mad. I’m behind the times.

I’m a Luddite.

In French class, I had to buy the recommended text. Everyone bought it off Amazon, surprised at its cheap price and speedy delivery time. They wondered why I didn’t have the text yet. Little do they know that I had driven to local bookshops in my area and scoured second hand book stores and libraries for it. When I said to the class, “I prefer not to buy it from Amazon”, they looked at me as if I was mad. I was behind the times. They scoffed. They don’t understand. They need to understand.

Im a Luddite.

When you hand over cash (which is still legal tender in my books), the retailer refuses to serve you because they prefer electronic transactions. When you see BANKS now CASHLESS and where bank tellers have become customer service concierges or some such, you can’t escape the fact that soon, I’ll need to change. I’m forced to change. I don’t want to but it’s inevitable.

They are simply removing, eroding, destroying any alternatives or competing products, services or companies.

For now, I’ll hold out being a Luddite but it’ll be a matter of time before I’ll need to surrender too. Begrudgingly. When that happens, I wont gleefully show my new purchase from Amazon. I wont gloat about phone banking and how easy it is to transfer money from me to you. I wont revel in the fact that I gave an Uber driver five stars.

I will be silent. I’ve lost. We’ve lost.

Luddites were not backwards. Nor were they fearful of change. They questioned the impact of technology to the livelihoods of people and society.