- Lily Allen said that her husband, David Harbour, manages the apps on her phone.
- “There's no browsing functionality, there's no social media functionality, but you can get Uber and Spotify,” she told The Sunday Times.
- The “Smile” singer also opened up about how she recently took away her daughters' phones.
Lily Allen, 39, said that her husband, David Harbour, controls the apps on her phone.
Speaking to The Sunday Times alongside TV presenter Mikita Oliver, Allen explained how he limits his smartphone use.
“I now have a child's phone called Pinwheel which has no browsing or social media but does have Uber and Spotify,” Allen told The Sunday Times. “My husband is the owner of the phone so he controls what apps can be installed on my phone.”
The “Smile” singer revealed that she also controls what's on her husband's phone.
“These things are made for kids, so he's my parent and I'm his parent,” she said.
Allen said the reason she goes to such lengths to limit her phone use is because she worries about the addictive effects of social media.
“The creative side of my brain has been ruined by the smartphone. I don't know anyone who can say their quality of life has been improved by the existence of a smartphone,” Allen said. “I think the smartphone has ruined humanity. It's horrifying that smartphones are designed to be so addictive. Some of us have more addictive personalities than others. It's evil.”
She added that she recently took away her daughters' smartphones after reading a book that argued that children shouldn't have them until they were 14.
Allen and Harbour married in September 2020. Harbour is the stepfather to Allen's two daughters, Ethel Mary, born in 2011, and Marnie Rose, born in 2013, from Allen's previous marriage to her husband, Sam Cooper.
Allen is not the only celebrity to speak out about the dangers of social media and giving kids smartphones.
In January, actress Penélope Cruz also voiced her concerns. Getting your kids to use social media In an interview with ELLE.
“The brain is very easy to manipulate when it's still forming,” Cruz said, “and who pays the price? Probably not our generation, who learned how to use a Blackberry at 25. This is a cruel experiment on children and teenagers.”
In April, Kirsten Dunst told Variety that her family isn't allowed to use cell phones while dining out.
“We're not raising kids who can't have conversations at the dinner table,” Dunst said.
Even former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates I didn't let my kids have cell phones. Until I was 14 years old.
A recent study commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron suggests that children should be banned from using smartphones and social media until they are 13 and 18 years old respectively.
A representative for Allen did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside normal business hours.
