Adele on social media: ​“I need a human touch!”

Social media rots our brains. It makes us feel rubbish and… oh, look at that, a promotion for a new kitchen blender we absolutely do not need. And yet we return, morning after morning, night after night, to the endless scroll. With four billion of us using social media in some sort of capacity, it’s no surprise we’re developing text neck, increased anxiety and severe cases of the ol’ FOMO.

THE FACE’s latest cover star Adele knows all about it. In her interview with Candice Carty-Williams, she revealed how social media used to get in the way of her life. ​“I would find myself not getting my errands done for the day,” the 33-year-old said. ​“It’s made to be addictive [and] it does a very good job of it.”

She’s right. Estimates suggest that 210 million people worldwide suffer from social media addiction.

“There could have been something really pressing I had to do and I wouldn’t get it done because I’d be looking at someone else’s life!” Adele continued. ​“Or looking at nail designs, interior design sites or reading hours of news that actually made me feel bad about the world.”

With a hefty 44.5 million followers, Adele has one of the most-followed accounts on Instagram, but she’s kept it pretty low-key over the years. She’s shared occasional posts of her watching the Euros and the odd meme, as well as using the platform to stand up for causes like Black Lives Matter and the Grenfell Tower tragedy. But for the world’s biggest pop star, nothing beats a bit of IRL connection.

“I don’t know anyone [on social media],” she told Carty-Williams. ​“I don’t want to talk to people that I don’t know – that doesn’t work for me. I need a human touch. I don’t want to be sitting in a room on my phone and talking more to people that I don’t know than I do know.”

Thankfully, the odd scroll through Insta didn’t get in the way of Adele returning with one of the most hotly-anticipated albums of the year, out tomorrow. Phew.