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VIDEO: Louis C.K. Explains Why Smartphones Are Bad for Your Soul

It's safe to say Louis C.K. probably wasn't standing in line Friday to get his hands on one of Apple's new iPhones. In an interview with Conan O'Brien Thursday, the comedian went into great — and extremely thoughtful — detail about why he doesn't like smartphones and why he would never buy them for his kids even though, as he points out, everyone has them. Louis C.K. and more of this year's Emmy nominees Echoing the rising problem of internet cyberbullying, he reasons that it's much harder for kids to feel empathy when...

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Kate Stanhope

It's safe to say Louis C.K. probably wasn't standing in line Friday to get his hands on one of Apple's new iPhones.

In an interview with Conan O'Brien Thursday, the comedian went into great — and extremely thoughtful — detail about why he doesn't like smartphones and why he would never buy them for his kids even though, as he points out, everyone has them.

Louis C.K. and more of this year's Emmy nominees

Echoing the rising problem of internet cyberbullying, he reasons that it's much harder for kids to feel empathy when they don't have as much direct, face-to-face contact during their formative years. "Kids are mean, and it's 'cause they're trying it out. They look at a kid and they go, 'You're fat,' and then they see the kid's face scrunch up and they go, 'Oh, that doesn't feel good to make a person do that,'" he says. "But when they write, 'You're fat,' then they just go, 'Mmm, that was fun. I like that.'"

The star of FX's Louie goes even deeper and says that smartphones create a false sense of constant community — which is what has made texting and driving so prevalent in recent years. "You need to build an ability to just be yourself and not be doing something. That's what the phones are taking away, is the ability to just sit there," he says. "Everybody's murdering each other with their cars. But people are willing to risk taking a life and ruining their own because they don't want to be alone for a second because it's so hard."

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In the end, Louis C.K. says, people need to learn to embrace this loneliness and sadness so that they can then know it's opposite — true happiness. He knows firsthand. Sometimes, it's OK to pull over to the side of the road and cry like a b---- to Bruce Springsteen's haunting hit "Jungleland." Watch the full video here:

What do you think of Louis C.K.'s theory? And how much do you miss his show right about now?