Ben Whishaw: Social media makes us less romantic

James Bond star Ben Whishaw has revealed why he avoids social media — and says he fears it is making us less romantic.

In an interview, the actor said he thinks social networks encourage users to get their self-worth from “everything being laid out and advertised”.

Whishaw, who plays Q in the 007 franchise, told AnOther magazine: “Being romantic is sometimes given a bad press. Like it’s a fake thing, or an idle, dreamy perspective on something. Less frank, tough, honest …which I think is b*******. Why is the alternative more real?

“Life is what you choose to make of it … People need more than just the humdrum … people need other things to be fed.”

He said: “When I was younger, starting out in acting, I was obsessed with love and trying to find it. But I feel we’re not living in very romantic times, don’t you think?”

Whishaw, 37, added: “We’re not living in a time where people value not knowing something. They value everything being laid out and advertised. And that’s how people get a sense of self-worth — of being seen and being known. The demonstration of your individuality is everything.”

Whishaw will soon be seen in Mary Poppins Returns.

His latest outing was opposite Hugh Grant in A Very English Scandal, in which he played Norman Scott in the dramatisation of the Jeremy Thorpe scandal. He said: “When you’re dealing with real things, and people who have been wounded, it’s hard.”

Read the full interview in AnOther magazine, on sale on Thursday