Thomas Myers found that those who leave the order to join, as I call them, the Fancy Dutch are those folks who have been tempted the most.  For example, they had experience with public school, or working in a factory, or living in a city, and so forth.  They also tended to be male and had more resources (Reference: http://www.goshen.edu/facultypubs/Tom_Meyers_Amish/meyers_amish.html).

I would add that there’s a difference between people in the extent to which they need outside stimulation and in the extent to which they become addicted to such outside stimulation (enter “sensation seeking” into a Google search to learn more about this).  Some people are more susceptible to boredom than are other people.  The plain and simple way can seem more boring to some people than it does to other people.  The kids with personalities that can’t stand boredom might choose to leave the Amish.

Anyway, people are fascinated with the Amish because they seem to have managed to maintain boundaries in a modern world that seems to destroy all boundaries.  We all know about this.  We’ve all talked about “setting limits.”   We know there’s something wrong when school and entertainment convinces kids that drinking Pop-o-cola is more important than drinking water.  We just don’t know what to do about it.  Well, the Amish do.  They keep the kids away from public school and entertainment.

We’re all watching, fascinated, to see whether they succeed.  The real amazement is that the kids put up with Amish restrictions at all.  Why  don’t they all  leave the order.  Some do.  But most don’t.  Maybe if we never had a TV set jerk our brains this way and that way and this way and that way, then we wouldn’t find plain and simple to be so boring either.
If you would like to read a little section on this topic, click- Further From the Middle, the sequel to The Other Side of the Middle
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