Scott Legato/Gett All this time,Jack Whitehas been living like the rest of us were back when"Seven Nation Army"was taking over the radio in 2003 — but now he's caught up. TheWhite Stripesfrontmanannounced on social mediaWednesday that he finally got a cellphone as a birthday gift from his better half. "Well y'all it's either all over for me now or just the beginning," White wrote in (somewhat ironically) an Instagram post. "I am now the reluctant owner of a cellular telephone for the first time in my life! A lovely 50th birthday present courtesy of my gorgeous and thoughtful wife Mrs. Olivia Jean (who took these photos as well.)" The musician noted that living without a cellphone for all these years hasn't been easy. "I've been saying that my days were numbered for years," White wrote. "Can't listen to my music in my car, can't park at a parking lot by myself because of QR codes, etc. etc. and I guess Olivia decided to be kind and put me (and all my loved ones) out of my misery! I thought if I could make it to 50 years old at least without ever having one that I could be proud of myself, and I am." He added, "Can't wait to talk to you all soon. My phone number is the square root of all of our combined social interaction times Pi." White, whose birthday is July 9, has a point. Two decades after cellphones went mainstream, 98% percent of Americans own one, with roughly nine in 10 owning a smartphone, thePew Research Centerreported in November. And yes, apps for parking, paying bills, enabling home security systems, and many more routine tasks are by now part of daily life. But the 12-time Grammy winner had told theU.K.'s Channel 4 Newsback in 2019 that he didn't use or want a cellphone, stating, "I don't have that addiction." NBC/Kevin Mazur/NBC via Getty He's even known forbanning them from his showsto give fans a break from their devices. "I thought it was just a big art project at first," White said, "just to see if people would think it was funny or cool or just a new experience, almost like an escape room or something like that." Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. But the result was that people were happy to unplug for a while. "It's been shocking how much people love it," White said. "And it brings up these real big questions like, 'So you need someone to tell you you can't use it to actually not use it?" The new cellphone owner will be inducted into theRock & Roll Hall of Famein November as one half of the White Stripes. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
