In the era when everyday operations have become nearly impossible without a smartphone in your pocket, comedian and actor Aziz Ansari prefers not to use one at all.
The Parks and Recreation alum is a Luddite by choice, a person who is opposed to new technology, and even avoids checking his own emails or using GPS for his travels.
But that does not mean he does not need them. He simply delegates the task to his wife, Serena Skov Campbell.
Highlights
- Actor-comedian Aziz Ansari got blasted online after he said he didn't use smartphones and instead relied on his wife.
- Ansari has previously said he does not check his email or manage his own social media and believes that AI use is hurting “humanity.”
- Celebrities like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino inspired Ansari to make the lifestyle change.
Ansari’s lifestyle choice recently resurfaced after The Drew Barrymore Show's social media accounts shared a clip of him talking about still using a flip phone and asking Campbell for help when he needs smartphone assistance.
Netizens reacted with anger, slamming Ansari for “burdening” his wife with tasks he could have very well done himself.
“That would totally aggravate me if I were his wife,” one person said.
Aziz Ansari admitted that he doesn’t use a smartphone or check his emails
Image credits: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
In September 2025, Ansari told People magazine at the Toronto International Film Festival after the premiere of his film, Good Fortune, that he doesn’t use a smartphone.
“I have a flip phone,” he said.
“I block pretty much every website from my computer. I don't have an email address… I have a landline. I love the landline!”
Image credits: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
He revealed that he also stopped checking his email a decade ago, but acknowledged that he had the “privilege” of hiring an assistant to handle industry communications and manage his social media profiles.
It allows him to “keep a clear head” and focus on writing, he said.
Ansari confessed that he depends on his wife for smartphone-related assistance
Image credits: Gotham/GC Images
A month later, Ansari appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show, where he admitted that it wasn’t always easy to live life in the modern day without a smartphone.
“I don’t have an email, and I don’t really go on the internet. I just kind of have a flip phone,” he told Barrymore. “It’s good, but it’s tough. It’s tough to get by.”
When asked how he manages, Ansari confessed that he would seek help from Campbell, a data scientist whom he married in 2022.
“My wife has a phone, though. A lot of times, I’ll just ask her stuff,” he said.
“Sometimes I’ll just be walking around, and I’ll have to call my wife for directions. I’ll be like, ‘I’m here! How do I get there?’ And she’ll help me out. That’s why you get married.”
“Yeah, exactly. You support each other, and help each other navigate life, pun intended,” Barrymore joked as Ansari started laughing.
The internet slammed Ansari for putting additional “cognitive load” on his wife
Aziz Ansari’s decision to rely on his wife for smartphone-related help rather than get one himself did not sit well with the internet.
“Spoiler alert: He manages without by pushing the cognitive load onto his wife, who does have a smartphone,” one person said.
Another wrote, “Relying on calling his wife to give him directions because he won't use a smartphone seems ridiculous.”
“He manages because he uses other people as a smartphone and email contact,” a third said. “Probably great for him, but harder for others to do.”
Image credits: Amanz/Unsplash (not an actual photo)
“So basically he’s offloading all the work to his wife?” chimed in a fourth. A fifth person commented, “Like, she doesn’t have anything better to do than be his mommy.”
A few commended him as well for being able to unplug from the internet.
“Honestly, good for him. I hate needing a smartphone for everything now,” one person said. A second said, “Good for him, no drama, no gossip, nothing.”
Aziz Ansari does not like to use AI either
Image credits: Good-Hang-with-Amy-Poehler
In October 2025, Ansari discussed the same topic during an appearance on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast.
Moreover, he explained why he also opposed using AI models like ChatGPT.
“It's outsourcing critical thinking. It's making everyone's opinions kind of the same,” Ansari said.
“I would rather call someone and ask someone, or maybe have some sort of conversation, a human thing. It just seems like it's like outsourcing thinking, and it's like ki**ing some bit of humanity.”
Ansari further added that hearing about filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino, who famously do not use cellphones, inspired him to adopt this lifestyle.
Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino are among other celebrities who do not use cellphones
Image credits: Nadia Rudenko/Unsplash (not an actual photo)
“It’s not that I’m a Luddite and don’t like technology; I’ve just never been interested,” Christopher Nolan said in a 2012 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“A lot of the things people amuse themselves with really are just toys for grown-ups, and it eats your time and pulls your concentration.”
Nolan’s wife, film producer Emma Thomas, usually makes contact with the cast and crew in his stead.
Actor Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus in Nolan’s The Odyssey, told People magazine in July 2026 that Thomas had texted him about the role, asking if he was around for a call, “because Chris famously doesn’t have a phone.”
Image credits: standup
Fellow filmmaker Quentin Tarantino shares Nolan’s apathy for modern technology. Not only does he not have a phone, but he also bans his cast and crew from using one on his set.
“When he leaves set, he has an old-fashioned answering machine with a tape — It’s very analog,” Once Upon a Time in Hollywood producer David Heyman told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020.
Among other celebrities who have famously denounced smartphones are Ed Sheeran, Dolly Parton, Michael Cera, Justin Bieber, and Shailene Woodley.
"Sounds terrible for HER." The internet called out Aziz Ansari for depending on his wife for smartphone usage
