Comedian Kamau Bell says a charger is his most essential tech tool
Comedian and podcast host W. Kamau Bell shared his everyday tech habits in an interview, naming a charger as his most indispensable tool and AI as the trend he'd most like to see disappear.
Comedian, activist and podcast host W. Kamau Bell, known for projects such as "Totally Biased," "United Shades of America" and "We Need to Talk About Cosby," recently discussed his everyday relationship with technology in an interview.
Asked about his most indispensable tool, Bell answered plainly: a charger, since without it every device is just an expensive paperweight. He said he uses a maps app almost daily, though he criticized apps from certain billionaire tech owners for labeling the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Social media and habits
Bell said Elon Musk's changes to the platform now known as X (formerly Twitter) effectively broke his addiction to it. He now mainly uses Instagram and Threads, though he noted Mark Zuckerberg isn't significantly better than Musk. He added that his generation isn't afraid to abandon social platforms, as happened before with MySpace and Friendster.
The first app he'd install on a new device would be YouTube, which he relies on both while working and for watching videos with his eight-year-old.
Other habits
Bell revealed he typically keeps around 17 browser windows open at once, a number that can climb to 30 when he's writing for his Substack newsletter. He only closes them after publishing an article.
Asked which tech trend he wishes would disappear, Bell named artificial intelligence. His favorite gadget is an Afro pick with long metal teeth, while his biggest tech disappointment was a hairbrush that claimed it could comb Afro hair but failed to do so.
Bell also mentioned recently buying Fishbone's first EP on record at a shop in Oakland, despite not yet owning a record player.
