Some stars have massive social media presences. Selena Gomez, for example, boasts 403 million Instagram followers, while Kim Kardashian‘s account is followed by 344 million,
Other celebs, however, tend to eschew social media entirely. One of those is Andrew Garfield, who has no social media footprint whatsoever — at least not officially.
Secret Instagram Account
In a recent interview with Variety, the former “Spider-Man” star revealed that even though he doesn’t have an official Instagram account, he does have a secret one.
“I’m as addicted as anybody,” the actor admitted.
“My screen time notifications are horrific to me. It’s like, I’ve given all of those hours to nothing,” he added.
“It’s genuinely enraging because we don’t have as much control over these impulses as we should, and it’s been by design. It’s pretty dark when you look at it,” he confessed.
‘Weird Ceramics’
Continuing that discussion, Garfield revealed that he gets sucked into various Instagram accounts, particularly those devoted to “weird ceramics” and “lots of Japanese kind of craftspeople.”
As much as he realizes he should spend less time on his phone, he also feels a bit powerless.
“I think we’ve all had the impulse to smash our phones or throw it into the forest or throw it into the sea because we know it’s taking our lives from us in some way,” he explained.
“I’m not better than anybody else,” he added. “I’ve been told, and I find it to be true, that if you leave your phone in another room, that does a lot of the heavy lifting. As soon as it’s in the room, you’re kind of [expletive].”
He’s Matured Since ‘Spider-Man’
Discussing his new film, “The Magic Faraway Tree,” Garfield was asked to reflect what his life hade been like 15 years earlier, and what goals he’s been able to tick off his bucket list since then.
“I was doing ‘Spider-Man.’ That was a dream from 40 years ago, so I was checking off one of my big dreams,” he recalled of the role that propelled him to fame in 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” and its 2014 sequel, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”
“I was also checking off just being an actor, he explained.
“I still have dreams, but they’re slightly more earthbound than my previous ones,” he added. “They’re maybe a bit more philosophical and existential than achievement based. Now I think it’s more I want a certain quality of life. I want a certain quality of relationships with my family and friends. I want a certain quality of relationship with myself.”
Life Beyond Hollywood
Asked whether he’d ever considered giving up acting and “leaving it all behind,” he admitted that had crossed his mind.
“All the time,” Garfield declared.
“I’ve worked a lot this year. I’ve done like 11 months, 12 months, straight back-to-back projects. I want people to see those projects, so I’m gonna have to tell people about them. I get that,” he added. “But if I had my druthers, people would just see them, and I could go whittle wood in the Somerset countryside and think about what the birds might be doing.”
