After some years of going ghost from the world, Aziz Ansari talks about his mental health and why he disconnected from the internet.
The comedian sat down with Kevin Hart on Sirius XM’s Comedy Gold Mind and opened up to his friend and comedy brother about why he felt the need to disconnect from the internet to protect his mental health.
During the interview, the Master of None star discussed how he started turning off the internet and deleted all of his social media. He’s even gone as far as not using email. “I stopped using email maybe like four years ago,” he said. “I’m in a position where I can do that and have, you know, whatever certain privileges to be able to pull that off.”
He explained to Hart that cutting himself off from the rest of the world helps his “mental diet” and allows him to get more stuff done. “Everyone thinks about their diet, and what they eat — at a certain point, it’s also about thinking about your mental diet and what you’re putting in your head,” he said
Hart agreed with Ansari and stated the importance of having a self-checkpoint. “I know what I can take. I know what I need and what I don’t need. And things I don’t need, I don’t have access to,” said Hart.
After the “True Story” star hinted at Ansari’s major upcoming projects, Ansari shared what his dream life would look like: doing stand-up while working on his passion projects would be ideal.
“I’m really happy where I’m at, and if I could just kind of keep getting to do stand-up every now and then, and put out specials and do tours, and then in between that, work on writing and directing projects that I’m passionate about, whether they’re films or other seasons of Masters of none or whatever,” Ansari said. “That would be a dream life for me. I’m all good.
Ansari also shared his vision for himself in the next five years, saying he wants a family, and instead of focusing on awards, he wants to feel good about his work. “I just want to be creatively fulfilled, and I want to follow your [Hart’s] path and have kids, and a family and all that,” he said.
The genuine respect of his peers is something the comedian said he cares about because “that to me is the home run.”
The actor recently partnered with Netflix to launch his new comedy special, NightClub Comedian.
Filmed in December of 2021 at the famed Comedy Cellar in New York City, Ansari’s new comedy special is a half-hour-long segment in which he spends most of his time on stage ruminating on how the pandemic has reshaped his life for the last two years.
Directed by himself, Nightime Comedian premiered on The comedy segment premiered on January 25th and is Ansari’s fourth special to debut on the streaming service.
