Ben Stiller thinks being single at his age would be "horrible."

The 48-year-old actor, who plays Walter Mitty in his new film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which he also directed, is married to actress Christine Taylor, and says struggling to connect with the world of romance through online dating like his character in the film would be his worst nightmare.

"It would be challenging for me to be in that situation, being single in your 40s and facing that responsibility - to have to communicate via social media. You have to put yourself out there; it's expected. 'What's your Facebook, your Twitter?' But what if you are like Walter and are not good at it? I am not good at it. It would be horrible to be single at this age and have to put your profile up. I have no idea how to sell myself and I really don't want to."

Ben and Christine, 42, have two children together, daughter Ella, 11, and son Quinlin Dempsey, eight, and the festive season sees the family celebrate both Christmas and Jewish holiday Hanukkah together. Ben - whose father, Jerry Stiller, is from a Jewish family, while his mother Anne Meara's background is Irish Catholic - said, "We have a place in Hawaii we like to go for Christmas. That's where we go with the kids and we hang out, have presents. This is an important time of year and when I was growing up, Christmas with all the toys was so exciting. I always want my kids to have a great Christmas, that's the most important thing."