I had the opportunity to spend a week in an Amish Bed & Breakfast last year, in an Amish community. It was a fascinating experience, and I learned a lot about t

I had the opportunity to spend a week in an Amish Bed & Breakfast last year, in an Amish community. It was a fascinating experience, and I learned a lot about the Amish. I'm no expert, but because I doubt we'll have actual Amish posting about themselves here, I'll do my best to share my understanding respectfully. There are multiple "orders" of Amish: The Swartzentruber, Beachy, New Order, and others. There are also Mennonites (with their own variety of orders) which are closely related to the Amish. Different orders have different views towards technology. Most of the individuals we were around rode e-bikes and all carried cell phones (flip, not smart). We were told to feel free to take as many photos as we wanted, but please not of people (outside of my party). Several had electricity in their barns, but not their homes. One family had electricity in the home, but had special permission from the church on account of medical needs. It was all very fascinating. The Amish shun technology for 2 main reasons. (1) Like you said, things that break their ideal society. They want to encourage the family, community, etc.. But also (2) Things that risk their societal independence. #2 was a surprise to me, and I think it's a lesser-known aspect, but makes sense. Their persecution in the late 1600s & early 1700s in Europe is core to their cultural identity. Shunning modern ways is a way to buffer themselves against a recurrence and ensure long-term safety. They can be and are very open to adopting modern ways, but they need time (often decades or more) to assess and allow modern ways to be proven. In that sense, they're not shunning technology so much as they are sticking with what's been proven to work -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it! The horse and buggy has been proven as a viable long-term solution, so why switch? Adopting modern vehicles puts them at risk, because they then become dependent on global supply chains, which are not proven to be long-term reliable.