Tom Holland is taking a hiatus from social media this week after the actor deleted the app from his phone, only to briefly return to explain the decision in a three-minute video. “Hi guys, I’ve been trying to make this video for about an hour now and for some that has spent the last, I don’t know, 13-14 years – however long I have been acting – I cannot seem to say what I need to say without ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’ my opinion so I’m going to try again,” Holland told his 67.7 million followers.
He explained, “So, I’m taking a break from social media for my mental health because I find Instagram and Twitter overstimulating, to be overwhelming. I get caught up and I spiral when I read things about me online and ultimately it’s very detrimental to my mental state. So I’ve decided to take a step back and delete the app.”
Holland took the opportunity to also discuss a UK-based teenage mental health charity dubbed, Stem 4 Org. It’s just one of many charities The Brothers Trust supports, a not-for-profit organization set up by Holland and his brothers.
His departure from social media comes after the Spider-Man star was spotted taking a commercial flight to Budapest to visit his girlfriend Zendaya where she is filming the second Dune film.
While we personally can’t imagine anyone speaking poorly of Holland, the 26-year-old could be referring to an incident on Twitter in June that suggested Zendaya was pregnant. A TikTok user crafted a hoax social media post which quickly went viral with the hashtag #ZendayaPregnant. The actress swiftly responded.
Holland is also notoriously private. In an interview with GQ last year the actor admitted he struggles with fame and the lack of anonymity. “One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn’t really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world,” he said.
“I’ve always been really adamant to keep my private life private, because I share so much of my life with the world anyway. We sort of felt robbed of our privacy. I don’t think it’s about not being ready [for our relationship to be outed]. It’s just that we didn’t want to”.
