As a tech-savvy student who attends college online, you may find it surprising that there are some people in this world who are completely illiterate when it comes to technology, or who are philosophically, fundamentally opposed to our society’s dependence on the Internet and gadgets. Called Luddites or Neo-Luddites after the 19th-century group of people who opposed the British Industrial Revolution, these people aren’t uneducated or unsuccessful. Keep reading for 10 successful, high-profile people who are total Luddites.

1. Derrick Jensen: Environmental activist Derrick Jensen has degrees in engineering physics and creative writing, and has taught at traditional universities as well as at the Pelican Bay State Prison. Jensen’s nature books have won awards and been recognized for their philosophy that the industrialized world cannot be reconciled with the natural world. He believes that indigenous lifestyles are the only way to coexist with the environment, and that our modern way of life is unsustainable. Jensen does have his own website, but he continues to write about our impact on the environment.
2. Elton John: Singer and songwriter Elton John is a pop culture icon whose influence extends well beyond the music industry. A proponent of gay rights and AIDS charities, Elton John was also a close friend to the late Princess Diana and has collaborated on Broadway musicals and blockbuster films as well. But despite his long-term, mainstream success, Elton John has expressed disdain for the Internet, and according to Forbes.com, told The Sun that it should "be shut down for five years to spark better quality art and music."
3. John Zerzan: John Zerzan is one of the most famous and extreme Neo-Luddites today. Zerzan doesn’t just want us to emulate the lifestyles of indigenous cultures — he would like to see a return to prehistoric human existence or cohabitation with the environment. Also called a primitivist and anarchist, Zerzan wonders about the necessity of language and organized society as well as modern technology. Zerzan’s writings and philosophies are especially controversial for some, as Zerzan was a close confidant to Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
4. Susan Sarandon: Film and TV actress Susan Sarandon has an Academy Award for her role as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking and has received great praise for work in movies like Bull Durham, Thelma & Louise and The Client. Sarandon is also known as a very liberal-minded activist who supports human rights causes around the world. Forbes.com reports that she openly considers herself a Luddite, although to what extreme remains unclear.
5. Orlando Bloom: Young actor Orlando Bloom became an internationally recognizable star after starring in The Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings franchises, and the English star and practicing Buddhist has since enjoyed a very successful career acting in other films like Troy and Kingdom of Heaven. Bloom — who was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2009 for his work with Nepalese schools — is also an environmental activist who redesigned his home to accommodate solar panels and utilize recyclable materials. Bloom allegedly doesn’t doesn’t even own a computer.
6. Nicholas G. Carr: In his famous article "IT Doesn’t Matter" that appeared in the May 2003 edition of the Harvard Business Review, writer Nicholas G. Carr compared the Internet and information technology to railroads and other "infrastructure technologies" that resulted in great profit for some companies, but then became such an oversupplied commodity, that their mere existence didn’t even matter anymore. Carr also wrote an article "Is Google Making Us Stupid," which argued that humans’ ability to concentrate and develop deep thoughts is compromised the longer we rely on the Internet. While Carr doesn’t seem to be completely against technology, his philosophy serves as a warning to our dependence on information technology.
7. Paul McCartney: Another British pop legend who may really be a Luddite is Sir Paul McCartney. McCartney has said that he can’t use an ATM and would much rather send a hand-written note than an e-mail, which is just "boring."
8. Vince Vaughn: Actor Vince Vaughn is known for playing rowdy, bachelor-type characters in movies like Wedding Crashers and Swingers, and though his personal life has recently settled down, he doesn’t have the reputation for being ascetic or philosophical. But the Minnesota-born Vaughn famously told MTV that he rejects addictive cell phone use and doesn’t even own a mobile device. He explained that he would rather communicate the old-fashioned way — with a traditional home phone and answering machine system.
9. Emma Thompson: Emma Thompson is a prominent English actress well known for roles in classic Shakespearean and Jane Austen films as well as modern movies like the Harry Potter series and Stranger Than Fiction. The Cambridge-educated actress has two children, including a son they adopted from Rwanda after his family was killed during the genocide there. Thompson has called herself an atheist and a libertarian anarchist, "regard[ing] the systems as distressing."
10. David Sedaris: Comedy writer David Sedaris is a hit with college students, the NPR crowd and international audiences who appreciate his self-deprecating humor and autobiographical works like and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Sedaris is an openly gay, Greek-American writer and radio contributor who claims that he doesn’t use everyday tech gadgets like cell phones or e-mail, even though his father worked as an engineer for IBM.