Tom Holland has officially announced he is taking a break from social media.
“I have taken a break from social media for my mental health, because I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, to be overwhelming,” he said in a video he posted to Instagram on Sunday. “I get caught up and I spiral when I read things about me online. And ultimately, it’s very detrimental to my mental state.”
The Spider-Man star, who has 67.7 million followers on Instagram and 7.4 million on Twitter, has rarely used either platform of late. He last posted a photograph on Instagram six weeks ago and last tweeted in February 2022.
Calling the almost three-minute-long video a “brief return to Instagram,” Holland seemed to be struggling to communicate his feelings about social media. “Hi guys. So I’ve been trying to make this video for about an hour now,” he said. “And for someone that has spent the last, I don’t know, 13, 14 years – however long I’ve been acting, is it that long? Yeah, it probably is that long – I cannot seem to say what I need to say without umm-ing and ah-ing every five minutes. So I’m going to try again.”
At the end of the video, Holland gave a shout out to teenage mental health charity Stem4 and philanthropic organization the Brothers Trust, which was set up by Holland’s parents.
Alongside the video, Holland posted the caption: “Hello and goodbye… I have been taking a break from social media for my mental health, but felt compelled to come on here to talk about @stem4org. Stem4 is one of the many charities @thebrotherstrust is extremely proud to support – and I’d like to take a moment to shine a light on their fantastic work. Please take the time to watch my video, and should you feel inclined to share it with anyone who it may resonate with – it would be greatly appreciated.”
Holland is not the only actor who has found themselves retreating from the glare of social media. Earlier this year Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley returned to Instagram after a 6-year hiatus, having suddenly quit in 2016 without warning. “Coming out of social media hibernation refreshed, recharged, and ready for what I’m calling my ‘Year of Yes.’ (And that’s the tea.)” she wrote alongside a pic of herself wearing an LED eyemask.
Other public figures who’ve taken a break include Selena Gomez, Lorde and even Kim Kardashian, who took a three month hiatus after being robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016.
Check out Holland’s video below: