Peter Capaldi reveals why he's not on social media
"It is often just the noisiest people making their useless opinions heard," the former Doctor Who star said
Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi might have once wielded sonic sunglasses and navigated the Tardis through spacetime, but there’s one area of technology he hasn’t embraced: social media.
Although the Twelfth Doctor is often seen at conventions, engages in Q&A sessions and takes photographs with fans, Capaldi has said he doesn’t pay attention to Whovians online.
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“I don’t take any notice of it,” Capaldi said to The Australian when questioned about social media. “Some of the younger actors are quite happy to expose themselves to how they are going down on social media. But I don’t think it is a good thing because it is not necessarily an accurate expression of what people think. It is often just the noisiest people making their useless opinions heard.”
While Capaldi is notably absent from Twitter and Facebook, he’s not the only Doctor Who star without an online presence. Although the likes of companions Pearl Mackie and Karen Gillan can be found on Instagram and Twitter, none of the previous Doctors of modern Who (Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith) have official accounts.
In the same interview, Capaldi also discussed incoming Doctor Jodie Whittaker (another Twitter-less Time Lord). “I think it will be wonderful,” he said about her upcoming series. “Everybody goes on about Doctor Who being all about change but it’s not really. It just reconstitutes itself in order to carry on doing the same thing, which is really a weird alien blowing up monsters. As long as that happens, I think Jodie will do it brilliantly.”
And if that doesn’t get you excited enough for new episodes, we’ve got plenty of reasons why Whittaker’s series could be the best Who yet – 13 reasons, in fact, which you can read about here.
Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this autumn
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.