Gone are the days when people needed their morning newspaper when the dawn broke. Nowadays, people need their morning dose of Instagram right after waking, even with squinted eyes. In this era of social media where likes and shares have become the currency of validation, you must be hardly seeing anyone around without a smartphone.

The Guardian

However, there are some celebrities, who are not the biggest fan of smartphones. Forget smartphones, some of them are averse to using cell phones of any kind altogether. Despite being in show business, from cinema to sports, and often appearing on our phone screens, they have chosen a rather tech-free life. Professional disturbances, personal distraction – the reasons are many, but here’s a list of some of them who have escaped our favourite little black mirrors.

1. Christopher Nolan

In a world where an actor’s stardom decides the box office of a movie, few directors pull crowds to the theaters. And Nolan’s name arguably would top that list. However, I was shocked to learn that the influential director doesn’t use a smartphone. Not only that, he doesn’t have an email ID and refrains from using the internet. He has also banned the use of phones on his sets, for the cast and crew.

Hollywood Reporter

2. Ed Sheeran

The Shape of You singer revealed that he decided not to keep a phone in 2015 because he was losing real-life interaction. his team gives him a phone when needed. He explained that the constant back-and-forth of messaging and the pressure of responding on time led him to adopt a phone-free lifestyle.

ABC News

3. Justin Bieber

The singing sensation once revealed that he doesn’t have a mobile phone, instead, he uses an iPad for communication. Bieber said he does this to limit the means of communication, “I definitely learned how to have boundaries, and I just don’t feel like I owe anybody anything,”

Forbes

4. Christopher Walken

The veteran actor of Dune and Pulp Fiction said that he continues to embrace a tech-free lifestyle. He doesn’t use a cell phone and watches movies and shows on physical DVDs. He says he has never used emails or Twitter.

Men’s Journal

5. Saswata Chatterjee

The Kahaani and Jagga Jasoos actor said in an interview that he once bought a smartphone and had WhatsApp and Instagram accounts made. However, he rarely used to check them because he felt they were distracting him from life and work. Now if he goes to a remote area, he carries a simple phone.

Wikipedia

6. Warren Buffett

The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and a minor owner of Apple shares was a long-term user of a $20 (1,438 approximately) Samsung SCH-U320 flip phone. He finally decided to ditch his old and upgraded to an iPhone 11 in 2020 at the age of 89.

Forbes

7. MS Dhoni

Well, we had to mention MS on this list because of all the anecdotes we hear from his team-mates. They say it’s practically impossible to contact him via a phone when MS is away. The former Indian captain had said in an event in 2023, “I do have a phone but I use it only to set an alarm at night. It does the job of waking me up in the morning.” He was recently seen using a smartphone in a practice session, but many fans pointed out that he was just swiping notifications.

8. Elton John

Music legend Sir Elton John has been vocal about his disdain for cell phones over the years. He does not even own a mobile phone and says that his husband David Furnish runs his Instagram. He credits his social media presence to his team. “I don’t have a phone. The office staff runs Twitter for me. I don’t do it myself,” Elton once said.

Billboard

9. Shailene Woodley

The star of Divergent and The Fault in Our Stars revealed way back that she was not a big technology fan. In fact, she revealed that she didn’t even have a cellphone. Shailene said that if she were to have a phone, it would have been a flip one. According to her, there’s a lack of privacy, camaraderie, and community than there’s ever been, which is one of the reasons for her decision.

Just Jared

Well, to most of us dropping off our smartphones sounds like a nightmare. However, if we took some time off doom-scrolling, the world may appear a little less doomed.