“Ego is too fragile” — When Scarlett Johansson reveals why she does not use social media

Scarlett Johansson offered a glimpse into her personal life with an unexpectedly candid confession. During an April 4, 2023 interview on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast, Johansson explained the emotional reasons behind her decision not to have personal social media:

"I honestly am too fragile of a person to have social media. My ego is too fragile. I can't deal with it. My brain is too fragile, I'm like a delicate flower. I have enough anxiety."

It might seem like a strange choice for someone so deeply established in the spotlight, but for Johansson, it has been an act of self-preservation.

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Scarlett Johansson’s short-lived social media experiment

Johansson’s decision to avoid personal social media is not speculative but rooted in her experience. She mentioned that she "had Instagram once for three days," which was sufficient to make her realize it was not her thing.

"When I started realizing that I'd spent 20 minutes looking at somebody's Instagram page who worked for a friend of mine, I now know you have a pit bull, two daughters, and live in Burbank, I'm like, I just wasted 17 minutes of time, I now feel like I should move to California, get this specific dog and change my life in all these ways."

She added:

"I felt so bad, like I was missing out on this random person's life, I can't do this. I'm too fragile, I have too much anxiety about other things."

Although Johansson continues to avoid personal social media accounts, she is active on social media to promote her skincare company, The Outset, within clearly defined limits. TikTok, for example, is used only in a professional context, and even then, she approaches it carefully.

She enjoys reading customer reviews but admits that simply seeing the app makes her "completely absorbed" in it. "That's how I know I can't have it," she joked.

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Scarlett Johansson declines social media boost for Jurassic World: Rebirth

Scarlett Johansson is known for her performances in films like Lost in Translation, Marriage Story, and Black Widow. In an era of celebrity exposure frequently amplified by social media, Johansson remains a surprising exception, a position that has at times been tested when promotional campaigns from studios have urged her to compromise on this choice.

"Jurassic World Rebirth" Berlin Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals - Source: Getty

The request was positioned as a bright decision to attract the audience of the younger generation. However, in the case of Johansson, it was not so straightforward.

In March 2025, Scarlett Johansson told InStyle:

"I mean, even today, I got an email from Universal, and they're like, 'Hey, would you consider joining Instagram in tandem with the release of Jurassic World: Rebirth?'"

Johansson elaborated:

"[I] get a lot of pressure to join social media," and then wondered, "Is there a way I could do this and stay true to who I am? It didn't feel like I could."

Scarlett Johansson further admitted she does not use social media, partly because she does not want to pretend to like it.

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Johansson’s selective approach to online engagement reflects a deliberate decision that safeguards her privacy and well-being.