Ed Sheeran Takes Digital Detox Further, Getting Rid of iPad

Ed Sheeran performs at Z100's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in New York on Dec. 10, 2021. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is taking his digital detox to the next level, ditching his iPad after already getting rid of his cell phone a decade ago.

In an Instagram post on Jan. 29, the 33-year-old shared a series of snaps from his concert in Thimphu, Bhutan, noting he reverted to capturing memories the old-fashioned way.

“Got rid of my ipad and now i just walk around with a camera like its 1997,” he wrote. “Here’s a dump of Bhutan trip. lots more camera guy dumps to come i promise.”

His performance marked the first time an international artist performed in the country, with the Grammy award-winner visibly living in the moment with his handheld camera.

Digital cameras started to become popular in the 1990s, but with the widespread development of smartphones, dedicated handheld cameras and film-based ones in particular decreased in usage around the mid-2000s.

Sheeran, however, maintains his disdain for modern-day technology, telling Jake Shane during his “Therapuss” podcast last year why he stopped using his phone.

“I haven’t had a phone since 2015; I got rid of it in 2015. ... I found I had the same number from like age 15, and I got famous, and I had 10,000 contacts in my phone. I just was losing real-life interaction, so I got rid of it,” he said.

The “Thinking Out Loud” singer noted he would only use his iPad once a week to check emails, especially for work-related purposes, but now has omitted that device as well.

Aside from human interaction, Sheeran credits staying away from technological devices as helping him creatively, saying his songwriting and mental health have improved as a result.

With 140 total award nominations and 45 wins, Sheeran was named the most-played artist in the United Kingdom for the seventh time in his career in 2024.

Meanwhile, actors Woody Harrelson and Michael Cera, along with singers Justin Bieber and Elton John, are just some of the other famous faces who are taking part in a digital detox by getting rid of their smartphones and embracing living in the moment.

Harrelson said he wasn’t open to being “readily available to any human being at any time,” and he gave up his cellphone over four years ago and hasn’t looked back.

“I like to be in touch with people in a way, but I don’t like the appendage on my appendage,” said Harrelson during his SiriusXM podcast with Ted Danson, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” last year.