Jeremy Allen White says starring in The Social Reckoning did not change how he thinks about social media, but it did reinforce concerns he already had.
The actor appears in the new standalone sequel to The Social Network alongside Mikey Madison, Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen, Bill Burr, and Jeremy Strong. White plays journalist Jeff Horwitz, while Strong portrays Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether making the film shifted his view of social media platforms, White said his feelings were already aligned with the movie’s larger concerns. “I don’t know if it changed,” White said. “I think I have always held similar feelings to what we’re trying to provoke with the film, so I don’t think it changed my mind in any way. But it definitely strengthened my opinions. There’s a lot of proof about the addictive aspects of this stuff, and we should all take a step back.”
Although both actors appear in the film, White said he and Strong did not work together on set. “Jeremy and I spent zero time together filming; we were totally separate,” White said. “So the first I heard was the trailer with you guys, but it’s incredible.”
White praised Strong’s performance, saying it was exactly the level of work he expected from the Emmy-winning actor. “I thought it was great, but that’s what I expect of Jeremy,” he said. “He’s so talented. He works so hard. It makes perfect sense to me.”
White has also spoken approvingly about efforts to restrict children’s access to social media, including the UK government’s move to ban social media use for children under 16. “It’s remarkable how addictive this stuff is,” White told Variety. “I think there needs to be a correction. It’s never going to go away, but I do think there needs to be boundaries or guidelines at a certain point.”
The actor, who shares two daughters with ex-wife Addison Timlin, said his children do not have their own phones or tablets, though they sometimes use his or their mother’s devices.
White added that he hopes society finds its way back toward a more analog approach to everyday life. “This is all moving very fast, and it’s a little scary,” he said.
The Social Reckoning arrives as conversations around social media, screen time, children and platform accountability continue to intensify, giving the film a timely cultural backdrop beyond its connection to one of the defining tech dramas of the previous generation. Watch the trailer below:
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