I sense a hint of romanticism here. People have always yearned for a purer time. No era is perfect and every era thinks that their forefathers had it easier and was more devout and had better families, etc.
In addition to the problems noted with Amish youth, many of the Amish communities are running out of farmland. A farm can only be divided so many times before it loses its value. You need enough land to make it economically worthwhile to farm. So younger sons are having to move far away to purchase land or take up non-farming occupations. The concern is that if many Amish are not farmers then the community may not be able to sustains it traditions.
I think a better model than the Amish are the Ultra-Orthodox Jews. They don't shun modern technology but avoid television and movies. They dress distinctively to separate themselves from the rest of society. They have to live in the same neighborhoods because they can't drive on saturday. IMHO, it would be beneficial to live within a close community within the larger community. To live in a neighborhood so your children can play with other children in the community and other adults besides their parents as role models. And if the church was very close by it would easy to attend more services.
I think Christianity has always taken what's good in the general society; philosophy or technology or folk customs, etc. and uses them to preach the Gospel. Of course things that are tainted with paganism should be excluded. But technology itself cannot be 'tainted.'
