Resisting technology, Appalachian style

Sherry Hamby is Research Professor of Psychology and Director of the Life Paths Research Program at the University of the South.  Dr. Hamby is also founding editor of the American Psychological Association journal Psychology of Violence. When people hear “Appalachia,” stereotypes and jokes may jump to mind, so we asked one of our employees from West Virginia what jokes she knew. We heard “land of the toothless,” “our family trees go in circles,” and apparently her high school even had “drive your tractor to school day.” But jokes aside, Appalachian attitudes about technology’s role in daily life are extremely sophisticated – and turn out to be both insightful and useful in a technology-centric society.