April 6, 2007
A growing number of Amish now carry a cell phone
According to Lancaster Online, "The majority of Amish businesses have cell phones and business people outnumber farmers in Lancaster County," he says. [via digg]
"... Although church leaders long ago ruled out cell phone use in Lancaster's Old Order settlement, more members are using the devices, creating tension in a community that cultivates harmony.
Cell phones are a persistent problem in one of the few societies on earth that seriously debates whether or not to accept every technological advance that comes down the pike.
A century ago, Amish bishops forbade phone ownership. Eventually, they permitted groups of Amish to install "community phones" in shanties outside homes. Then some of them allowed phones inside businesses.
But for the past decade, the Old Order has faced a challenge from a phone with a different ring: a discreet personal communication device that, if expanded beyond its basic use, can function as everything from camera to computer.
Amish bishops worry about the negative consequences of cell phone use. They believe cell phones could encourage frivolous chatter and intrude on family time.
"Cell phones are different from any other electronic device," explains Diane Zimmerman Umble, a Millersville University communications professor who has written a book about the Amish and telephones. "They are easy to conceal and run on batteries that can be recharged."
Related: - Amish and Mennonites build their own phone booths
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