Besides being an advocate for environmental awareness and animal welfare, Ian Somerhalder also raises his concerns about the power of technology over our society, reports say.
During his one-on-one interview with CNET, the Vampire Diaries actor revealed how he is being watchful by the fact that technology could paralyze the society, particularly the younger generation.
"The amazing thing about the tech world, when you look at, say, social networking and social media, is that they allow us to transfer information literally at the snap of a finger," he said. "However, we've become so reliant on tech that we no longer rely on each other."
Somerhalder was also trying to point out some of the possible effects that technology could bring to many lives, saying "When you look down at your phone and it says 3G, and you say, '''Oh my God, it's just 3G', that is a disease. That is a 21st-century disease,"
He went on to say, "That is not a good thing that we get so impatient. That trickles down to how impatient we are with our animals, with our kids, with our teachers, with people in traffic."
Despite seemingly disagreeing to 'technology' in some ways, the actor didn't deny that he is also a technology enthusiast. However, what he was trying to say is that he just wants to help the next generation use technology in a more even-handed way.
"I live for tech. I live for it. It's the future. I just want to humanize tech, and I want tech to humanize us." He said.
While Somerhalder admitted he is excited by the technology advancements of today, citing examples such as self-driving, he also admitted he's worried about the possible dangers that these tech advancements could bring to the society and to his family.
"I'm also aware how tech fails," he said. "I just got married, and we want to have children relatively soon. I'm just thinking about being at work and my wife being on the way to the set with our kid or kids and dogs in the car at a stoplight totally aware what's going on."
He went on saying, "And some unmanned car is coming by and there's a glitch in the system or there's a firmware issue or there's a satellite issue. Anything new like that is a bit scary."
Ian Somerhalder, who plays Damon Salvatore in 'The Vampire Diaries', is married to Nikki Reed. Besides doing a bit of adjustment to his new married life, the actor is also getting ready for the upcoming chapter of TVD which will air on October 8, Thursday.