Ansel Elgort is a New York-born actor who most recently played Augustus Waters in the film The Fault in Our Stars. He took some time to speak with uInterview about his newest film, Men, Women, and Children, where he plays Tim, a depressed fifteen-year-old who spends most of his time on an online role playing game before meeting a girl who helps break him out of his shell.

While the movie does not offer one singular message about social media, Elgort believes the film provides, at the very least, a realistic portrayal. “People are very connected, in their phones all the time and I suppose you can take away from it like, ‘Oh, social media is bad,’ but I don’t think it is,” Elgort told uInterview exclusively. “I think it is saying this is how it is and maybe it’d be a good idea to put down our phones a little more often and connect with the people in front of us.”

Elgort also spoke to uInterview about his personal experience with social media and was honest about its initial effects. “At first, when it first started happening and I first got some followers it was fun and it still is fun and I may have been obsessed a little bit,” he said.

While Twitter and other forms of social media can certainly provide entertainment, Elgort is mindful of its power and has a few rules. “I don’t like to say negative things and I don’t like to just tweet crap. I feel like, it’s not as simple as like, me tweeting to a hundred people anymore. I’m tweeting to 2 million people every time I send out a tweet, so I have to think about what I am saying. ”

Men, Women and Children was released in select theaters on October 1 and will have a wide release on Friday October 17.

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User Erik Meers
Q: Where is your character Tim at the onset of the movie? - Erik Meers

So, Tim is fifteen years old, he's very down on himself, depressed. His mother has left him and his father behind and sort of the only thing that brings him happiness in life is on online role playing video game where he has friends on there and he feels he is important in some way or another by playing this game. And then, a little bit farther into the film, he meets a girl and that sort of brings him out of his depression, But up until then he is in a pretty dark place.

User Erik Meers
Q: What do you think the movie's message is about social media? - Erik Meers

You know, I don'™t necessarily think its one particular message. I think that it just sort of states how the world is now, in a pretty realistic way, in my opinion. We're all in the thick of it, but I'm a young person in the thick of it and I know this is sort of how it is. People are very connected, in their phones all the time and I suppose you can take away from it like, oh social media is bad, but I don't think it is. I think it is saying this is how it is and maybe it'd be a good idea to put down our phones a little more often and connect with the people in front of us.

User Erik Meers
Q: Have you found yourself getting obsessed with social media? - Erik Meers

At first, when it first started happened and I first got some followers it was fun and it still is fun and I may have been obsessed a little bit. But now I realized it's a good tool and it's fun and it's a nice to be able to connect with your fans, but it's not something that I'm like addicted to anymore.

User Erik Meers
Q: Do you have rules about how you use your social media? - Erik Meers

I don'™t like to say negative things and I don't like to just tweet crap. I feel like, it's not as simple as like me tweeting to a hundred people anymore, I'™m tweeting to 2 million people every time I send out a tweet, so I have to think about what I am saying. Is this really worth saying? I'm tweeting to a lot of people this is a huge platform. Also I have a lot of fans and a lot of fans who are from all over the world with different opinions, different views. So, you know, I don't wanna tweet about too many things. Like, I really wouldn't wanna tweet about religion, I suppose and I wouldn't want to put someone down on twitter. I try to be as positive as possible and just tell you how I'm feeling. Mostly if I'm having a good day - if I'm having a bad I probably just won't tweet. I want to encourage people to be positive and to chase their dreams. I have some young people who might be influenced by what I tweet, so I have to be mindful of that.