In the age of everything digital-first, nobody’s really logging off for good these days. What’s intriguing is that not even the celebrities who claim to keep their distance from all the digital noise can get past the social media frenzy. Andrew Garfield, the Hollywood star who’s always seemed thoughtful and a bit removed from the chaos online, just confessed he falls into the same doom scroll trap as the rest of us. And he does it on the sly.
What Andrew Garfield said about doom scrolling
At a recent London premiere for his new movie, ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’, Garfield got real with the Associated Press. He admitted he doesn’t have public social media accounts, but that doesn’t mean he’s not lurking. In his words, he has “creeper accounts” that he uses to scroll through social feeds just like everyone else.“I’m just as bad as everyone else,” he said. “Because I’m a human, and they’ve figured out exactly how to hook us in. So no, I’m not immune to it.”Garfield said he’s got to stay disciplined with himself because, even without a public profile, he still gets sucked into the endless feeds. It’s a familiar story: you try to stay above it all, but the algorithms always find a way.Interestingly, his secret social media life isn’t exactly news to everyone. Florence Pugh, his co-star in ‘We Live in Time’, accidentally let it slip during a Vanity Fair interview. She started to talk about his social media habits, then caught herself — only too late.“Well, you don’t have any public social network, but the ones that you do, that I do know of you using, you tweet. Not much, but you do do twits,” Pugh said when asked if she could name Garfield’s favorite social media platform.Sure, Garfield denied tweeting, saying, “I’ve never tweeted.” But he admitted he still “looks at twits” now and then. It was a pretty funny moment, and a reminder that even celebrities can’t keep all their secrets.Talking to AP, Garfield also mentioned he’s seriously impressed by anyone who manages to control their social media use, especially parents. “The idea of being able to do that with young kids is almost impossible. I’m honestly in awe of people who can set boundaries for their kids, and a lot of my friends and family actually manage it.”
Andrew Garfield: What we know about the ‘private’ Hollywood star
For the unversed, Andrew Garfield is a British-American actor who’s done everything from superhero blockbusters to indie dramas and theatre. Most people know him as ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, but he’s also been nominated for an Oscar for ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ and wowed audiences in ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ Garfield tends to stay out of the spotlight, so hearing about his undercover scrolling just makes him feel more relatable.Currently, Garfield is promoting ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’, a film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s classic children’s books. It’s got that nostalgic, magical vibe and aims to introduce a new generation to an old favorite.
