Michael Cera Still Has a Flip Phone

He couldn't participate in the 'Barbie' group chat because he refuses to get an iPhone

Photo: Eva Rinaldi

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jul 10, 2023

Have Neil Young and Michael Cera ever hung out? If not, they might find out they have a lot in common; they're both Canadian artists who have made it big in the US, and they both use flip phones.

Cera's lack of a smartphone meant that he was omitted from the Barbie cast's group chat. "I don't have an iPhone myself," Cera told People [via BANG Showbiz]. "I have a flip phone. But I still think I wouldn't belong on [the group chat] anyway, because [my character] Allan is sort of in his own little world."

Cera also doesn't have any social media accounts. Earlier this year, he told The Hollywood Reporter, "t doesn't feel conscious. I guess it's just something that I didn't elect to do. Because everybody does it, it starts to feel like a big choice. But it's just not interesting to me. But I also don't have a smartphone. And that is a conscious choice, because I feel a bit of fear about it honestly like I'd really lose control of my waking life. Right when people started having smartphones, when it was Blackberries, I had lunch with a friend of mine who was my best friend at the time, and he'd just gotten a Blackberry, and for the whole meal he was typing emails, and I was sat there lonely and bored. So I had an early aversion to them."

He added, "For many years, people resented me for this lifestyle choice. But now people say that they envy it."

Whether you like smartphones or not, there's one thing everyone can surely agree on: flip phones look cool as hell, as Cera is wise to hang onto it.

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