The Reason Tom Holland Is Stepping Away From Social Media
As Spider-Man, Tom Holland can sling web and take down villains that sometimes resemble trolls, but unfortunately, his fictional powers are useless on the world wide web, where villainous internet trolls use screennames to hide their identities rather than masks.
Over the years, Holland has had a love-hate relationship with the internet. While chatting with Daniel Kaluuya for Variety's Actors on Actors series, he remembered how he was nervously waiting to see if he'd scored the role of Peter Parker when he saw a number of online polls saying fans didn't want to see him in Parker's Spidey suit. Then, he learned he got the part from an article on the internet. "I broke my computer, because I flipped it up in the air. It fell off my bed; my dog went nuts," he recounted. But with great power comes great meme-ability. Speaking to BBC Radio 1, Holland recalled how his fans started mercilessly making fun of the way he pronounces "croissant," which to them sounds more like "quackson." Luckily, he finds their amusement amusing — even if the joke is getting just a bit worn-out. "I am a walking meme," he quipped.
After a photo of Holland and his girlfriend Zendaya locking lips went viral, Holland discovered another downside of being an internet obsession. "We sort of felt robbed of our privacy," he stated. Now, he's following Zendaya's lead by taking a much-needed social media break.
It's hard for Tom Holland to read things about himself online
In a 2021 interview with InStyle, Zendaya explained why she takes a break from social media every now and then, saying, "I get too overwhelmed with having to post things, and if I think too much about it, I'm not gonna do it. It's not worth it." In a video that Tom Holland shared on his Instagram page, the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" star announced he was taking his own social media hiatus for a similar reason. "I am taking a break from social media for my mental health because I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, overwhelming," he said.
But while Zendaya struggles with feeling the pressure to post, Holland finds another aspect of social media harmful. "I get caught up and I spiral when I read things about me online and ultimately it's very detrimental to my mental state," he explained. Holland revealed his break had already started, but he hopped back on Instagram to promote the U.K.-based charity stem4, which provides resources for teens facing their own mental health struggles. While many of his followers let him know that they were sorry to see him go, he received an outpouring of support in the comments. "Love you man," wrote Justin Bieber.
We don't know if Zendaya encouraged Holland to go dark on social media, but in 2017, Holland did tell BBC Radio 1 that she helped him become more comfortable with his fame.