Stepping into the room felt like entering a portal to a different time. It was filled with chatter and laughter from nearly 20 students sitting in a circle facing each other. Some read books, ate food and even played instruments.
But there was one thing everyone had in common: no one was using screens of any kind.
The Luddite Club is a campus club that gets together to connect in “offline” ways. Each week, instead of using their free time to scroll on social media, they gather to take a break from their phones and laptops. They’ll explore outside, play board games or drawing games or even just eat together and socialize. Kion Eslamy, a third-year mathematics major, started the club in winter quarter 2025 and leads club meetings.
He noticed that he knew many people who thought modern technology was making it harder for them to socialize with others, especially when they were always surrounded by screens. It felt like there was no escape.
So, Eslamy started the Luddite Club as a solution.
“Really what I cared about was creating a community,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to be alone.”
A study from the Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences in 2021, which looked into the impact of social media on academics, showed that 57% of surveyed university students considered themselves addicted to social media, 59% reported that social media affected their social interactions, and 74% spent their free time on social media.
The article said that these habits can negatively affect students’ academic performance and social interactions.
According to the study’s report, “Social media has more adverse effects than positive ones.”
Eslamy said that there’s an interesting difference between middle-aged adults who are only now getting addicted to screens and young adults who have never known any other world. He thinks young people are starting to be less social, less capable and less well-rounded, because they’ve grown up with screens deeply integrated in society.
Club member Ajax Pingree said that, even though he knows the negative effects of smartphones and social media, it doesn’t make him less susceptible to addiction, so he appreciates the type of space the Luddite Club provides.
“I love having a place where lapses in conversation don’t lead to everyone immediately pulling out their phones,” Pingree said.
Some members of the Luddite Club use flip phones, including Eslamy, who made the switch three years ago.
Smartphones are like a “digital Swiss Army Knife,” he said, but the main issue with modern technology is the lack of socialization.
After getting the opportunity to strum a mandolin and trade caterpillars crawling on the Communications Facility lawn, leaving the Luddite Club meeting felt like a culture shock. The world was made up of screens once again.
When modern technology feels too demanding, the Luddite Club is a place for people to escape and reconnect with themselves and others.
Students interested in the Luddite Club can attend meetings Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in Old Main 482.
“Use the technology, don’t let the technology use you,” club member Jordan Brownsberger said.
Noelle Reger (she/her) is a second-year journalism student and city life reporter for The Front this quarter. When she's not reading or writing, she can usually be found gambling at the claw machines in Sharetea. You can reach her at noellereger.thefront@gmail.com.
