Andrew Garfield confesses that he deleted his Facebook account before he worked on the 2010 biographical film The Social Network. Directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, the critically-acclaimed, award-winning drama portrays the founding of the social networking site Facebook, beginning with a young Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) at Harvard University, where he befriended Eduardo Saverin (Garfield), an early investor and co-founder of the platform. Facebook has faced an onslaught of controversies since its inception in 2004. For years, the company has been accused of selling, mismanaging user data, and spreading misinformation.
In an interview with GQ while promoting his new movie We Live in Time, Garfield explains why he deleted the app and praises the portrayal of the controversial media giant in The Social Network. He admits the decision to leave the platform did stem from Zuckerberg’s increasingly questionable reputation, and that he “had an unease around it.” Garfield says:
I believe I had come off of it already before having read the script. It just wasn’t somewhere I wanted to be. And it felt, I think at that time, it did feel like the reputation of Zuckerberg was slightly being called into question and his intentions. Whether he had the maturity, the access to his own heart and humanity to preside over such a huge responsibility, making this new town square.
I had an unease around it like I think everyone did and everyone still does. Aaron Sorkin captured the terror of what this person had created, the kind of potential toxicity of it. [You] can identify the personal wounds and the personal fallibility of the person and how it’s been passed into the very system or the very platform or the very product or organization that has been created.
What Andrew Garfield’s Confession Means for The Social Network
The Movie Nailed Facebook’s Biggest Issues
Fourteen years after its release, Garfield breaks down one of his most iconic roles of his career thus far. His portrayal of Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network remains a powerful testament to the complexities of friendship and the hardships of ambition. The film’s most pivotal scene shows Eduardo confronting Zuckerberg for cutting his shares and removing him as CFO. “I didn’t realize it was going to be so heartbreaking,” Garfield says, underscoring the emotional depth of facing someone who’d sacrifice his personal relationships for the sake of the company.
Throughout The Social Network, Zuckerberg grapples with the challenge of forming genuine connections with others, a struggle that Garfield notes is mirrored in the very platform he created which “made it impossible for all of us to connect on a human level with other humans.” This observation presents the paradox of many social media sites which bring people in contact with millions of others, but still leaves most of its users feeling lonely and isolated. The Social Network is an incisive portrait of Facebook and its creator.
We Could All Use A Detox
Garfield’s personal decision to leave Facebook resonates deeply with the experiences of countless users who have chosen to distance themselves from the platform over the past decade. The actor’s insights into the character of Zuckerberg sheds light on the ethical quandaries at the heart of the platform’s development and ongoing controversies.
It comes as little surprise, given this context, that Facebook has become a source of division and conflict rather than a tool for fostering a genuine community. Garfield’s interview about his movies and The Social Network presents a thought-provoking perspective on the need for periodic disconnection from digital platforms. His suggestion that one sometimes needs to be severed from the world to come back to it speaks to a growing movement advocating for digital detoxes and more mindful engagement with social media.
Source: GQ
David Fincher’s The Social Network chronicles the birth of Facebook and the rise of tech mogul Mark Zuckerberg. Following Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) as he creates his famous social network along with his friend and investor Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield). As Facebook’s popularity grows, Zuckerberg faces legal action from former friends, with The Social Network following his journey from an innovative young student to a titan of industry.
- Release Date
-
October 1, 2010
- Runtime
-
120 minutes
