'It destroys the moment': Saif Ali Khan explains his aversion to social media

At the India Today Conclave 2024, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan engaged in a candid conversation with journalist Rahul Kanwal, revealing his reasons for steering clear of social media platforms like Instagram.

While acknowledging the benefits of social media for brand building and promoting causes, Khan expressed a personal preference for staying offline. "For me personally, if I was to take pictures of a moment, it destroys the moment for me," he explained. "And I really like kind of enjoying my life. Sometimes you're having dinner or you're doing something with the kids, and even if my wife says, 'Okay, can we take a picture,' the kids, me, all of us are like, 'No, you either shoot something or you experience it."

He elaborated on his views, stating, "For me, I think it's a great thing, and who knows, I might join it. There's no – I don't have a kind of a stand against it at all. It's just, for me personally, I think it's too time-consuming. And when I find myself sometimes I have surfed Instagram, and I've spent half an hour reading the most inane things, and my wife says I'm not following the right things. But, and then I kind of delete the app because I, I feel I've wasted a lot of time, um, compared to something I could be reading in a book or, you know, uh, doing something more concrete with my time."

Khan also addressed the potential impact of his social media absence on his brand value and visibility. He expressed contentment with his current level of success and a preference for staying true to himself.

"I remember discussing it when it came out," he said, referring to the rise of social media. "But I think you kind of have to be happy with a certain amount, like I sit with my management and I say, 'Okay, this is how much I'm making in terms of money. Do I really need to kind of turn this around and do something more? How much do we push? How happy are you with your…?' And I think social media, sometimes, for me… I think it's a great thing, you know, and there's – my wife is the queen of Instagram at home.”

He added, "Maybe we could have got a little bit more here and there to be just like everyone else, but I'd still rather be um, you know, myself and, and not do that."

Khan concluded by emphasising his enjoyment of life offline, "I engage well with life. I have quite a, a busy life, um, and I just don't see this as part of it. But I live with someone who does, and it's fab. And if I ever need any posting, I'll give her a nudge and say, 'Darling, will you please…' and before I know it, it's gone to many millions of people. But it's not something I do very often."