Apple CEO Tim Cook Urges Users to Get Off Their Smartphones and Spend Their Days 'in Nature'
Apple CEO Tim Cook Urges Users to Get Off Their Smartphones and Spend Their Days 'in Nature'
Sam GilletteTue, March 17, 2026 at 4:26 PM UTC
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Apple CEO Tim Cook.Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty -
Apple CEO Tim Cook urged people to spend more time outside instead of scrolling on their smartphones
“I don’t want people using them too much,” the 65-year-old executive recently said on Good Morning America
Cook also pushed back on a "rumor" that he planned on stepping back a bit from his role
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has some surprising advice for smartphone users: take a break from scrolling.
In an interview with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan, which aired on Tuesday, March 17, the 65-year-old executive reflected on the company’s 50-year legacy, the impact of recent tariffs and Apple's expanded contributions to school music programs as part of its partnership with Save The Music.
He also discussed the importance of engaging with the world outside of a screen.
“I don’t want people using them too much,” Cook said of his company's ubiquitious smartphones.
“I don’t want people looking at the smartphone more than they’re looking in someone’s eyes; as if they’re scrolling endlessly,” he said. “This is not how you want to spend your day. Go out and spend it in nature.”
A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry acknowledged that while smartphones are “an integral part of life” for many people, they also have negative effects when used too often.
“Excessive use of smartphones can cause not only physical discomfort but also feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression,” the authors wrote.
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Last month, Apple celebrated its 50th anniversary. During his GMA interview, Cook — who served as the tech company’s chief operating officer before being named CEO in 2011— reflected on Apple's most noteworthy moments, from “reinventing” music and popularizing the smartphone to helping save people’s lives through the Apple Watch. He also addressed the possible impact of AI.
As concern and excitement surge around the new technology, Cook told GMA that he thinks AI “is so profound and can be so positive.”
A stock image of a boy looking at an iPhone.Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty
“But you know, technology doesn’t want to be good, and it doesn’t want to be bad,” he continued. “It’s in the hands of the user and the hands of the inventor.”
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For Cook, the tech industry isn’t one he’ll be leaving anytime soon. He pushed back against a “rumor” that he plans on slowing down.
“I love what I do deeply,” he told GMA.
“We’ve had ups and downs, but the people I work with are so amazing,” Cook said. “They bring out the best in me, and hopefully I can bring out the best in them.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
