Actor Woody Harrelson says he enjoys restricting his use of modern technology. For him, that means forgoing a cell phone.
He made the remark in an episode of his new SiriusXM podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” alongside co-host Ted Danson.
The two were interviewing actress Kristen Bell, who said she is trying to work through a phone addiction.
In response, Mr. Harrelson, 62, clarified he isn’t a fan of being “readily available to any human being at any time.”
“I like to be in touch with people in a way, but I don’t like the appendage on my appendage,” said Mr. Harrelson.
It’s been over three years since Mr. Harrelson gave up his device for good. When he did have it, though, he said he tried to set usage limits for himself.
“I made a thing where I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna set a two-hour limit on my phone’... I'd check the time, it’s 9:30, so I’ve already hit my limit at that time. So I woke up, and I’ve been on [the phone] two hours already.”
The actor said he never used the device for phone calls, but did communicate via texting.
As for Ms. Bell, she said her perspective changed when her daughters, Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 9, made her aware of how much time she was spending on her phone.
“I realized when they were talking to me, if I‘d be checking something, even if it would be the most valid thing ever ... one of my kids would look at me and go, ’I just feel like you’re disconnected. I don’t have your whole attention, Mom.”
Now, the actress has taken a proactive approach in combating her cell phone usage, and says she is “over the hump of addiction” to her device.
“When they get home from school, I do put it down. I put it upstairs … It’s not in my ether when we’re bopping around the house at night and I feel I really enjoy being less connected to it. It’s such a trick.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Harrelson joins a number of other celebrities who have taken part in a digital detox, like English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran who recently admitted he hasn’t had a phone since 2015.
The Grammy award winner is vocal about his stance against technology, and limits his usage and communication to emails, which he checks weekly.
Canadian actor Michael Cera also ditched his smartphone, telling the Hollywood Reporter last year he never had any interest in the device but because everyone else uses one, it seems like a drastic decision.
“That is a conscious choice, because I feel a bit of fear about it honestly like I’d really lose control of my waking life. Right when people started having smartphones, when it was Blackberries, I had lunch with a friend of mine who was my best friend at the time, and he’d just gotten a Blackberry, and for the whole meal he was typing emails, and I was sat there lonely and bored. So I had an early aversion to them.”
