Welcome to the Summer of Ludd. That’s the name of an anti-smartphone festival recently held in New York. It was slightly under the radar for obvious reasons – there was no Instagram, TikTok or website; advertisements were on “wheatpasted monochrome posters”. Those attending followed the rules: “Be present, and absolutely no phones, recording, or photos allowed.”

That’s perhaps why, the Economist reported, “crowds were small” – but they seemed to be having fun, with events including “Google in Real Life” (festival attenders answering questions on their specialist subjects), “flirting rehabilitation” and “hanging out with rats”. I was particularly charmed by the festival’s “media spokespuppet”, Gowanus: more events should be fronted by carpet offcuts with sock arms and button eyes.

A wider neo-luddite movement is gathering momentum. You may have read about gen Z prioritising IRL socialising, “going 90s” and adopting offline, old-fashioned hobbies. The likes of Offline Club and New York University’s IRL initiative are combating smartphone addiction with phone-free spaces and events.

There’s a gentle longing for analogue fun –........

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