Among celebrities, Justin Bieber is a model with a different way of thinking about smartphones. He said frankly that he doesn’t like phones. There was a time when Bieber stopped using the phone, then started switching to the iPad.

In an interview on Billboard in 2021, the singer revealed that his morning habit right after waking up is to open the tablet to contact management and check the day’s schedule, instead of surfing the phone.

Bieber’s goal is to “limit who can approach him.” This is something you’ll hear a lot from celebrities who don’t use their phones. They don’t try to disconnect from people, but they do want to escape the feeling of being constantly bothered by calls, texts, and emails.

How do celebrities use smartphones?

Once you are famous enough, millions of people will pay attention to your every word, always talking about you. At this time, the best way to manage gossip and personal life is to cut off as much as possible. Therefore, many celebrities have put away their phones, disconnected from social networks and completely logged out of accounts.

Prince of pop Justin Bieber says he doesn’t like phones. Photo: GC.

From Tom Cruise, Elton John to Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael Cera, Dolly Parton, George Clooney, they all exclaim about a life without phones. When the Internet world is busy revolving around A-list stars, they don’t know anything.

That’s hard to imagine for the average person, because we don’t have managers, personal assistants or accountants to handle all the calls. What we have is just family members and a boss who will call to push deadlines at any time.

But the way celebrities use their phones is still worth discussing. Many people wonder if disconnecting from their phones will help them discover anything about the Internet and themselves?

A few years ago, Ed Sheeran shared a story about his smartphone experience and sounded a lot like Bieber. The “Thinking Out Loud” singer has not bought a phone since 2015 because she was “overwhelmed and sad when holding a smartphone in her hand”.

From 2015 until now, Ed Sheeran has not owned any smartphone. Photo: PA .

But not having a phone doesn’t mean Ed Sheeran has cut off contact with the world. The singer said that only reduces the frequency of contact with people and that is the point.

“I have an email. Every few days, I sit down, open my laptop, and respond to 10 emails at once. I send them off and close my computer. Then I go back to life without feeling overwhelmed,” Sheeran said about how he communicates.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in 2020, judge on hit show Britain’s Got Talent Simon Cowell revealed he had ditched his phone for an iPad. “You won’t have to wake up to 50 text messages hitting your eyes,” he said.

Shailene Woodley – star of the Divergent movie series – has a different strategy as she still has an iPhone but does not use mobile data. If she wants to use a smartphone, the actress must go to a place with Wi-Fi.

Use smartphones purposefully to make life less “senseless”

If you watch many interviews with celebrities, you will realize that smartphones – the devices with the most powerful connectivity and multitasking capabilities – should not always be within reach. All it does is distract, making it easy for you to leave the real world whenever you’re bored or curious, even for just a second.

Just getting your phone out of sight and making it a little less accessible is an accomplishment in resisting its irresistible appeal.

With laptops, it should be used purposefully. When you sit down, you turn on the computer, complete your work, then turn it off and don’t turn it on again until needed again. Likewise, whether it’s a PC on your desk or an iPad on your nightstand, it should stay there after you’re done using it. When you’re not there, you’re somewhere else and your laptop, PC or iPad isn’t with you.

Learning from celebrities, The Verge ‘s writer David Pierce did an experiment: delete as many applications on smartphones as possible and move them to tablets and laptops. They are a distraction and you can still live well even without receiving updates every minute.

Use technology devices purposefully. Photo: Phuong Lam.

All social networks are transferred to the iPad, while banking, movie, video and game apps are completely removed from the phone. Therefore, every time he wants to watch TikTok, The Verge writer has to get up from his chair and go find the tablet in another room.

“Up to now, my experience has been very good,” he said. Pierce realized that his phone had been the source of all his problems for a long time without him even realizing it. He often opens TikTok on the way to the kitchen, or opens Facebook while waiting for the microwave to heat food. Now, although he is not sure he has broken this habit, at least all his actions are intentional.

The writer said he turned his downtime into another, more meaningful activity. When he realized he was sitting on a chair and “mindlessly” scrolling through social networks, he immediately put down his device and went out. There, he had nothing to surf.

Pierce realized he finally understood what director Christopher Nolan had said in an interview with People a few years ago. “I’m easily distracted so I don’t want to access the Internet when I’m bored,” the talented director shared.

Last year, when talking to Hollywood Reporter, he said that there were still no smartphones. He admitted that sometimes he still buys brick phones for temporary use and considers it “a great move”. “Technology and what it can bring is amazing. But I made the choice not to use a smartphone because I considered the level of distraction it would cause me,” said Christopher Nolan.

For The Verge writer , it’s not about giving up technology, it’s just about using technology purposefully.

Invisible traps on social networks

The book Digital Universe by Professor Kim Sang Kyun deeply analyzes and thoroughly dissects the impacts of smart devices, virtual worlds and social networks in modern life.