NEWSBen Affleck Was 'Banned From Instagram Twice' Because They Thought He Was an Impersonator
Ben Affleck isn't very interested in being on social media.
Oct. 8 2026, Updated 4:58 p.m. ET
Ben Affleck doesn't use social media — thought it's not for a lack of trying.
In a new interview, the actor said he just wanted to use Instagram to follow his family, but creating an account on the popular platform didn't go as planned.
'I Had 6 Followers'
Ben Affleck said he mostly wanted Instagram to keep up with his kids.
“I got banned from Instagram twice for impersonating myself,” he admitted to Variety. “I had six followers. It was my kids and some of their friends. It was just an excuse for me to look at [my kids’] social media accounts.”
Nonetheless, Affleck — who shares three children with ex-wife Jennifer Garner — doesn’t feel he’s missing much.
“There used to be a time when everything you said or did wasn’t on the permanent record,” he said. “As you get older, you become aware of what that means. I experienced the whole world and had a whole life in private. I have a real sense of how valuable that is.”
'As an Actor, You Have to Maintain an Illusion'
Ben Affleck said he learned the value of keeping personal and public life separate.
He went on to cite a variety of great actors who stay away from social media, such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, and Viola Davis.
“It doesn’t help me appreciate their movies to see what they had for lunch,” he explained. “I realize I sound like an old, out-of-touch person, but I believe that as an actor you have to maintain an illusion."
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'I Had My Turn in the Gossip Mill'
Ben Affleck has been under the public microscope for nearly as long as he's been a celebrity.
Affleck knows what it’s like to be under the public microscope. He’s long been a regular presence in paparazzi photos as his relationships, marriages and divorces from Jennifer Lopez and Garner had fans eager for every new twist.
“When I was younger, I had my turn in the gossip mill,” he acknowledged. “We discovered there’s a lot more audience for that kind of material. In fact, there weren’t enough celebrities and lives to fill [the pages]. So whole new genres emerged out of that demand — like reality TV stars and other characters engineered for that audience. But I was around for that, and I remember it was really overwhelming because it was unprecedented.”
'What Am I Going to Do, Unbox Something?'
Ben Affleck praised his ex-spouses Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner for how deftly they handle social media.
Though he praised both his ex-wives for how astutely they manage their public profiles, he said it’s just not for him.
“Now you’ve got your social media identity,” he expressed. “You work to develop that. I’ve seen both Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner do amazing jobs cultivating and accruing value in those spaces. Don’t think that’s not real work. I couldn’t do it. What am I going to do, unbox something?”
