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Thomas Rhett occasionally takes a step back from checking his social media accounts — and it’s been a “game changer.” The country singer-songwriter opened up about how social media has changed over the years, and how he knows he needs a step away.
“In the beginning of that there’s not a whole lot of things to really worry about,” Rhett said in a statement shared by his record label, reflecting on joining social media platforms around age 18 (“when Twitter…or Instagram first started”). “You’ve got 20 followers or whatever it is, and so whatever you say it’s basically like you’re telling your 20 closest friends what happened to you today. But as you start to kind of grow that following, I think just a little bit of unnecessary pressure may come into your life.”
As he gained a larger following, the “Slow Down Summer” artist explained that it was sometimes difficult to share music that didn’t resonate the way he thought it would. Now, distancing himself form social media — or from his phone — is something Rhett does for his peace of mind and for his family. The father of four doesn’t want his kids to remember their dad “always on his cell phone” throughout their childhood. He added that it’s also more fun to learn his friends’ life updates in person rather than on social media. “I think it just makes sweet moments way sweeter when you don’t have the knowledge of everything that’s happening to everybody,” Rhett said. “I think everybody should try it.”
See what he said here:
“It’s been kind of a game changer for me, for sure. I mean, I’ve technically been on social media since I was 18, 19 years old, when Twitter first started or Instagram first started. And you know, in the beginning of that there’s not a whole lot of things to really worry about. You’ve got 20 followers or whatever it is, and so whatever you say it’s basically like you’re telling your 20 closest friends what happened to you today. But as you start to kind of grow that following, I think just a little bit of unnecessary pressure may come into your life. You post a song that you thought was great, and then maybe it doesn’t translate like you wanted it to, and all of a sudden you’re taking all that feedback and you’re going, ‘Well, maybe it wasn’t great.’ It just kinda started gettin’ to me a little bit, and I read a couple books about how to, not even distance yourself from social media, but distance yourself from your phone in general. And I think having four kids, I really don’t want my kids to grow up being like, ‘My daddy was always on his cell phone.’ And so, it’s been really healthy for me to do that, and more so for me was just to be way more present in the household. My wife even noticed how much more present of a human I am and how much more engaged I am in conversation and all that kind of stuff.
“And it’s also fun to find things out. Like, if you know when all your friends are pregnant or somebody’s getting married or this or that, when you see ‘em, you’re like, ‘Hey, congrats.’ Instead of them being like, ‘Hey, I’ve gotta tell you something. We’re pregnant!’ And all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s amazing!’ Like, I think it just makes sweet moments way sweeter when you don’t have the knowledge of everything that’s happening to everybody. So, I think everybody should try it.”