Why ‘After We Collided’ Star Hero Fiennes Tiffin Avoids Social Media

Hero Fiennes Tiffin is hitting heartthrob status. Last year’s successful adaptation of the new adult romance “After” is being followed up by October’s “After We Collided,” where he’ll reprise his role as bad boy Hardin Scott. However, despite his growing popularity, the 22-year-old isn’t on social media much, and he told International Business Times why.

“Social media was something that I grew up with. It’d be like, ‘Oh, this new app Snapchat, send each other videos when you’re in school.’ It’s just a fun little thing that everyone gets and you jump on the bandwagon,” he explained to IBT during a visit to the Atlanta set last year.

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“As I got older, I just wanted to delete all of them because I spent so much time just watching funny videos, and as funny and entertaining as they are, I wanted to be more productive with my life.”

So Fiennes Tiffin ditched his profiles—except Instagram. The actor said his Insta “was kind of a necessity” for his modeling and acting careers. Until “After” released last year, he mostly just used it to keep up with friends.

“And obviously, when the film came out, it blew up. [It’s] so crazy and I’m so grateful for that, but it completely changed the dynamic of what it was there for, for me,” he recalled.

With 5.6 million followers, it’s safe to say Fiennes Tiffin has an audience who is ready to listen to him. However, the actor hasn’t posted to his grid since June 2, and “After We Collided” released last week in many countries, including the UK, where the actor was raised. He said he’s “still learning how to really use it to the best of its abilities,” but he also noted that he doesn’t want to focus on promotion before performance.

“So while I was shooting my first lead movie, the first ‘After,’ my mindset was like: I need to focus on making sure I do a good job, not hyping people up to watching my performance if I haven’t focused on it. So I kind of detached from it, didn’t post,” he said.

“In my free time, I go on it more. I realize I’m just finding a way to use it in a way that I enjoy and the fans like. I think I’m nearly there. I’m definitely not the most active, but I’m still on there.”

Just don’t expect him to join any other social media platforms soon. “Twitter is so funny. I used to love Twitter, but all I would do on it is just scroll through and see funny stuff. It’ll be two hours later and I could’ve actually done something,” he recalled.

For the English actor, it’s all about staying focused and productive.

“[When I] minimize those procrastination tools, then I found I actually got somewhere in life,” he said. “But you need to find a balance. When you’re stressed out and you’ve been doing a lot all day, it’s great to just procrastinate and do nothing and watch funny videos for a bit. It’s all a balance.”

“After We Collided,” directed by Roger Kumble, hits US theaters and VOD Oct. 23. Also in the cast are Josephine Langford, Dylan Sprouse, Charlie Weber, Shane Paul McGhie, Louise Lombard and Candice King. Anna Todd co-wrote the script and is the author of the book.

Additional reporting by Rachael Ellenbogen.