Along with reduced sentencing in the event of a misdemeanor or a felony conviction, the rich and famous may also squeak through life without having to rely on the latest in gadgetry to communicate and stay organized. Their numbers surprisingly legion, they shy away from various technological trends for vastly different reasons. Just about the only thing these economically lofty Luddites have in common is their ability to afford staying away.
 

1.) John McCain
Arizona Senator and one-time Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s notorious aversion to technology likely cost him a valuable, younger voting demographic – especially considering competitor and eventual victor Barack Obama’s reputation for geekery. During the election, McCain professed that he was “learning to get online [him]self.” This confession garnered considerable criticism from his opponents and the average American citizen alike. After all, avoiding technology does indicate some level of disconnect from the peoples he desired to lead. Only the very wealthy and the very poor are capable of getting through life without regular access to the internet – with this being American politics, there is no question which category McCain belongs in. Sure everyone knows that one cannot belong to a low tax bracket and serve as a politician in the United States, but the Senator’s reluctance to use the internet beyond a few basics only solidified his reputation as a potential leader completely out of touch with the needs of today’s society. Even middle class voters who despise their workplaces’ reliance on the internet and cell phones still have to use them, and they simply cannot relate to someone who lives so far above the masses they don’t need technology.

2.) Angelina Jolie

Bankable A-list actress Angelina Jolie also detaches herself from the huddled, inferior masses by shunning technology – a surprising move considering how the media tends to burn up its valuable resources hanging upon her every action. When journalists are able to actually start reporting the social, political and environmental ills that crop up on a daily basis instead, she picks up a newspaper or magazine. One wonders why she even bothers, considering how half the stories in any given periodical are about whether or not Jolie and partner/baby daddy Brad Pitt have had a fight. She apparently sometimes cracks jokes about how he has to help her make any amount of sense of a computer when forced to sit in front of one like a commoner.
 
3.) Vince Vaughn

The overgrown frat boys who worship Vince Vaughn as their lord and master must toss out the concept of using their iPhones to buy them status if they want to live up to his smooth-talking legacy. He admitted to MTV in 2007 that he does not own a cell phone and must mooch coverage off friends and family when he needs it – a move which thousands of popped-collar and Jägermeister enthusiasts across the United States have surprisingly not yet emulated. However, they have certainly applied that concept to beer.

4.) Salma Hayek

She may have looked gorgeous donning a Battlestar Galactica t-shirt on 30 Rock, but brunette bombshell Salma Hayek is sadly anything but the poster child for sexy geeks. The actress never cared much for computers, actively avoiding them until her husband Francois-Henri Pinault guided her through the use of an iPad. Knowing her love of Sudoku, he piqued her interest by showing Hayek how to play the beloved number puzzles right there on the computer. From there, she gradually grew to understand and appreciate how these newfangled Apple contraptions could better streamline her hectic life. And, most importantly, provide her with hours of digital Sudoku goodness.
 

5.) Simon Cowell

Perhaps unsurprisingly, American Idol and The X-Factor hostSimon Cowell has proven about as adept with the latest in musical technology as he is with promoting musicians with genuine talent rather than manufactured marketability. iPods allegedly frustrate him to no end – probably owing to the fact that he can’t seem to make heads or tails of the device. However, he did mention that some of the dissatisfaction stems from perceiving it as too solitary. Though considering that his direct meddling resulted in the creation of From Justin to Kelly, allowing Cowell to enjoy himself away from other people should actually be considered a good thing.

6.) Tyra Banks

At one point in time, Tyra Banks suffered from an internet addiction. Probably Googling her name hundreds of times a day, she eventually severed the emotional tether to her beloved Blackberry and settled into a Luddite lifestyle less conducive to carpal tunnel syndrome. On a slow news day, The New York Times reported that she replaced her smartphone with a painstakingly organizes, tabbed and very, very analog notebook. She jots down everything that pops into her head using a primitive writing device known as a pen.
 

7.) Tom Cruise

Rumor has it that Tom Cruise does not own a cell phone or an e-mail address. Whether or not this has to do with technophobia or the fact that Xenu regards such filthy human pursuits with the same disdain as he does psychology remains to be seen.

8.) Emma Thompson

Renowned, Cambridge-educated English actress Emma Thompson is livin’ la vida Luddite by her own admission. The 2-time Oscar winner prefers writing out her well-received screenplays with a beloved fountain pen rather than tip-tapping them quickly on a computer or typewriter. Considering her adaptation of Jane Austen’s oft-misinterpreted Regency satire Sense & Sensibility earned her a naked, golden man worth more than the GDP of an emergent nation, Thompson must be onto something that the plugged-in masses collectively overlook.
 

9.) Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom’s purported reticence towards the internet – and computers as a whole – definitely boasts its own perks. After all, he never has to read fanfiction starring Will Turner and Legolas as vampire-hunting werewolves fighting endlessly over the affections a flawless, all-powerful diamond of a woman who, in spite of her rainbow hair, angel wings and “sparkling emerald orbs,” bears a suspicious resemblance to the author. Granted, the most recent reports of his technophobia date all the way back to the dark ages of 2006. Even then, he was bemoaning having to eventually buy a computer for the convenience factor. Whether or not he eventually partook of the technology Kool-Aid has yet to be reported by the few remaining Orlando Bloom fangirls who have yet to move their shrill shrieking over to Justin Bieber.

10.) Prince

Prince instigated quite the kerfuffle when he declared to The Daily Mirror that “the internet’s completely over.” He famously shut down his own website and instigated a complete legal embargo with iTunes and YouTube, preferring more traditional means of distributing his undeniable auditory brilliance. At one point during the interview, the musician likened the ubiquitous network to MTV – something once edgy and relevant that eventually veered off course into the realm of the solidly passé. Either His Royal Purpleness reached a higher state of consciousness following a purification ritual in the waters of Lake Minnetonka, or finally succumbed to the requisite generational grumpiness sometime around his 52nd birthday. A third option, of course, involves acting cool and lofty for the sake of appearing cool and lofty without actually fooling anyone besides gossip rags.

Just because a celebrity can afford Apple’s newest iProduct does not mean he or she necessarily rushes out to stay on top of the trend. Some have enough money to unplug from the world and connect with the technologies of earlier eras. Though their motivations differ – most not necessarily “phobic” in an actual clinical sense – all of them allegedly share a reluctance to celebrate the communicative and organizational streamlining that computers and other devices afford.