Hey Gadi,

I think you'll find this interesting. It was written by a dear friend, Howard Rheingold, who is a journalist exploring the connection between technology and society.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.01/amish.html

And here's what the Amish say about technology - which is a good rationale if adopted consciously and not legalistically:

"We don't want to be the kind of people who will interrupt a conversation at home to answer a telephone. It's not just how you use the technology that concerns us. We're also concerned about what kind of person you become when you use it."

See, this is exactly why I have such dislike for legalism. I completely understand why someone would want to limit the extent to which they passively consume media, or refuse to be a slave to their cellphones. I think that you're absolutely right that such decisions can be made on a conscious basis, and in fact they seem to me more powerful than renouncing the machines altogether. I think that a household that makes a decision that for religious, spiritual or social reasons they will not spend their Saturdays staring at the TV but go for a walk instead, or sit in the garden, or speak to each other or to friends, makes a very healty decision. I think that for someone to decide that the person they are currently speaking to is their top priority and they will not interrupt their dinner conversation to answer a phone is entirely valid and constructive. By the way, I disagree that it's a simple thing to do. Technology presents us with many choices about how to spend our time, and television and computers are particularly pervasive. The sedentary, passive lifestyle has a way of dragging us down. The decision to own such things but avoid letting them run your life is a brave one and often not an easy one to maintain. I think the Amish want to avoid being faced with these hard choices on a daily basis.

That said, I'd better turn off the computer and go work in the garden. :)