Standing in front of a gigantic map is not a traditional path to fame, but NBC data analyst Steve Kornacki captured national attention during the 2020 presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. As reported by WIRED, his enthusiastic delivery of state-by-state election results earned him widespread popularity, Internet nicknames like “chartthrob” and “map daddy,” and a spot among People’s sexiest men alive. Ahead of election day, Kornacki relies heavily on constant preparation, even though his personal habits and relationship with technology look very different from what his massive online following might expect.
Technology Habits and Daily Screen Time
Kornacki recently upgraded to an iPhone 17 Pro, noting that he typically breaks one phone every year. He claimed that the camera always feels the same despite claims of improvement, while praising the battery life. For his computer work, he uses an aging Dell desktop running Windows 7 Pro located in his office, admitting he has been too lazy to replace it and dislikes Macs because they drive him crazy.
His average daily screen time sits at three hours and 35 minutes, a figure he finds depressing. That time goes toward texting, email, and social media to ensure he does not miss breaking news. During election season, he frequently checks his phone to address potential blind spots in the states he covers. Despite spending hours online, Kornacki admits he is unfamiliar with memes, confesses he does not know what a subreddit is—jokingly asking if it is the dark web—and avoids FaceTime in favor of regular phone calls or in-person meetings.
Digital Overload and Modern Tools
Kornacki manages staggering digital backlogs, including 53,828 unread emails and 75 unread text messages. While he periodically clears out his texts to reach zero, he treats his overflowing inbox like a game to see how high the unread count can climb. For music, he listens via Spotify, where his all-time top song is “My Girl” by the Temptations. His recent Google searches include researching town-by-town results for Maine ahead of the Senate race.
In a departure from his usual routine, Kornacki recently experimented with artificial intelligence to overlay candidate benchmarks onto a map of Minnesota counties. While the tool saved him an hour of work compared to handwriting the numbers, he expressed mixed feelings about the shortcut, wondering if physical writing helps him internalize the data better. His favorite tech product is a fast Anker charger that can power his device quickly, and his preferred tech nostalgia is for the traditional cable TV bundle, which he feels has become overly complicated with the rise of various streaming services.
When it comes to social media and news, Kornacki uses X to stay aware of current events and YouTube for the livestreams he hosted during the primary season. For news, he prefers the print edition of the New York Post alongside his employer, NBC. He does not use emojis, relying instead on a thumbs-up feature in texts, and admits he is not a meme person as election night approaches.
