Nearly four decades after its release, Stand by Me had an unexpected influence on Julia Roberts’ daughter: it led her to decide she no longer wanted a smartphone.
In an era where some Gen Zers are starting to move away from
constant phone use, Roberts shared that her daughter, Hazel Moder—now 20—chose
to give up her phone years ago after watching the classic coming-of-age film
directed by Rob Reiner and based on a novella by Stephen King.
While promoting her new movie After the Hunt in an
interview with The New York Times, Roberts reflected on how much people
miss genuine conversation.
“I was just thinking this morning about when my kids were
little and we showed them Stand by Me. Afterward, my daughter came to me
and said, ‘I’m going to give you my phone,’” Roberts recalled. “I said, ‘Okay,
what should I do with it?’ And she replied, ‘Just keep it. I don’t want it
anymore. Watching that movie made me think—if those boys had phones, they
wouldn’t have really talked to each other. They wouldn’t have gone looking for
that body or shared stories around the fire.’”
Roberts added, “She realized how much phones were getting in
the way. The point is, we really value talking to each other, and sometimes we
forget just how important that is.”
Stand by Me, released in 1986, follows four teenage
boys (played by Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell)
on a journey in 1959 to find the body of a missing classmate. Along the way,
they form deep emotional bonds. The film was both a critical and box office
success and proved that Stephen King’s storytelling talents extended beyond
horror into more grounded, dramatic territory.
Recently, there’s been a small but noticeable trend,
especially among younger people, of switching from smartphones to basic “dumb”
phones—or giving up mobile devices altogether. While this movement isn't
widespread, it's gaining attention, particularly as studies continue to link
heavy smartphone use to lower cognitive performance, increased social
isolation, and mental health challenges.
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