Ed Sheeran on why he doesn't own a smartphone: 'I got really overwhelmed'
"The best thing about it, aside from mental health... is the moments that I have with the people I love, in person, are uninterrupted," says Ed Sheeran about getting rid of his phone.
While most 20-something-year-olds can't live without their phones, Ed Sheeran ditched his smartphone in his early 20s and has never looked back.
The 'Perfect' singer recently chatted to Ben Clymer from 'The Collector’s Edition' podcast about why he said goodbye to his smartphone in 2015.
"I got really, really overwhelmed and sad with a phone. I just spent my whole time just in a very low place and I got rid of it and it was like a veil just lifted... I didn't so much cut contact with people, I just limit contact with people," he said on the podcast.
Ed says it's been great for his mental health. He says he can enjoy uninterrupted moments with his family.
The 30-year-old singer says he mostly communicates via email these days - especially when it comes to work-related issues.
Ed told Ben that he only checks his email "every few days" and answers "10 emails at a time".
"I'll send them off and close my laptop and then that'll be it. And then I'll go back to living life and I don't feel overwhelmed."
The 'Shape of You' hitmaker says he doesn't regret getting rid of his phone.
"The best thing about it, aside from mental health and feeling better about everything, is the moments that I have with the people I love in person are uninterrupted," says Ed Sheeran.
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Ed's team uploads content on his social media pages for him. He currently has more than 36-million followers on Instagram!
Not bad for someone who doesn't own a smartphone. But Ed can't avoid phones altogether. He was forced to get a £59.99 (R1,200) phone in 2021 so that England's National Health Service (NHS) could contact him.
The NHS' track and trace team needed to ensure he remained in quarantine after returning from an overseas trip.
"The Government call you but I didn’t have a phone for them to call me on. They were really on me. I think they were trying to catch me out," he said on the Table Manners podcast in 2021.
The phone Ed bought can't download social media apps!
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Main image courtesy of YouTube/Hodinkee