The versatility, portability and affordability of modern technology have completed a journey into the hands of just about everyone. While anti-technology, pro-human experience movements are picking up some steam, the “walking-dead phenomenon” is fully entrenched. There is no evidence of Amish-like communities springing up as a counterpunch to this reality, nor are new products coming to lessen global dependency on personal technologies.
With that said, a new generation of Luddites is making their voices heard. We see increasing commentary on the dangers of dehumanizing the experience of living through our dependency on handheld devices. And the Retrograde trend we see elsewhere in the culture is, in large part, about a return to lifestyles that predate the artificial intelligence at our fingertips.