The 1975‘s Matty Healy has explained his reasons for stepping away from social media, saying that he’s a “much better person” without it.

Writing on Reddit, the frontman said: “I decided to come off social media – it was obviously in reaction to being thoughtless and getting cancelled initially, but that’s something that had become an almost weekly occurrence.

• The NME Big Read: The 1975: “I just hope that my honesty is not seen as self-indulgent”

“That’s not to trivialise it, it had. If I said anything or acted in a way that genuinely hurt somebody at any time I sincerely apologise for that. I genuinely mean you no harm, whoever you are.”

Healy went on to say that he had a “powerful realisation that I spend years and years on artistic statements” in the form of The 1975’s albums, but would then tweet his personal views online “without even thinking about it”.

“It’s such a weird paradox. And yeah sometimes I get it right but sometimes I look like a twat and that makes my work worse,” he continued. “I found myself asking myself ‘for what?’ some attention in the moment? A short cut towards feeling good about myself?”

Healy added that he is a “much better” and “genuinely happier” person now he’s not engaged with social media platforms, which he wants to utilise “in a better way” from now on.

“I just want my engagement within it to have the same purpose and intimacy that I hope many of you experience in my work,” he said, before referencing his new partnership with human rights organisation Amnesty International.

Healy has also used his online platforms this year to share posts in relation to the US presidential race and the Black Lives Matter movement.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MATTY ?? Amnesty Uk – DH00280 (@trumanblack)

• Read More: The 1975 – ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’ review: the sound of a band with no sonic boundaries

Upon the election results being announced early last month, Healy shared a playlist to celebrate Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. “Joe Biden has won and now we are vibing,” he captioned the collection.

Back in October, Matty Healy’s mother (actress Denise Welch) claimed that he was currently “working on a solo project”.

The 1975’s latest album, ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’, came out in May.