Lily Allen says her husband, actor David Harbour, controls the apps on her phone
"I think it's destroyed us as a species. It's horrendous that they're designed to be so addictive," Lily Allen told The Sunday Times.
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- Lily Allen says her husband, David Harbour, has control over the apps she has on her phone.
- "It has no browsing capability and no social media, but you can still have Uber and Spotify," she told The Sunday Times.
- The "Smile" singer also shared that she recently took away her daughters' smartphones.
Lily Allen, 39, says her husband, David Harbour, has control over the apps that she has on her phone.
In an interview with The Sunday Times alongside TV host Miquita Oliver, Allen spoke about how she limits her smartphone use.
"I now have a kids' phone called Pinwheel. It has no browsing capability and no social media, but you can still have Uber and Spotify," Allen told The Sunday Times. "My husband is the caregiver on it, so he controls what I'm allowed to have as an app on my phone."
The "Smile" singer shared that she controls what her husband has on his phone, too.
"Because they're made for kids, he's my parent and I'm his parent," she said.
The reason she goes to such lengths to limit her phone use is because she's worried about the addictive effects of social media, Allen said.
"The creative side of my brain has been ruined by smartphones. I don't know anyone who could possibly say that the quality of their life is improved by the presence of a smartphone," Allen said. "I think it's destroyed us as a species. It's horrendous that they're designed to be so addictive. Some of us have more addictive personalities than others. It's evil."
She also added that she recently took her daughters' smartphones away after reading a book that claimed children shouldn't use them until they are 14.
Allen and Harbour have been married since September 2020. Harbour is a stepfather to Allen's two daughters — Ethel Mary, born in 2011, and Marnie Rose, born in 2013 — whom she shares with her ex-husband Sam Cooper.
Allen isn't the only celebrity who has spoken up about the dangers of social media and letting kids have smartphones.
In January, actor Penélope Cruz also shared her concerns about letting her kids use social media in an interview with Elle.
"It's so easy to be manipulated, especially if you have a brain that is still forming," Cruz said. "And who pays the price? Not us, not our generation, who, maybe at 25, learned how a BlackBerry worked. It's a cruel experiment on children, on teenagers."
In April, Kirsten Dunst told Variety that no one in her family is allowed to use phones while eating out.
"I'm not raising a kid that can't have conversations at the table," Dunst said.
Even Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, didn't let his kids get cellphones until they were 14.
A recent study commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron found that children should be barred from using smartphones and social media until they turn 13 and 18 respectively.
A representative for Allen did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.