Daisy Ridley recently shared thoughts about social media, regarding it as "highly unhealthy for people's mental health."
In an interview with Radio Times, Ridley revealed the reason behind her quitting social media last September. The young British actress quit Instagram a few months back, in the midst of her newly acquired fame, being recognized for her role in the new Star Wars series. Apparently, the actress felt that while she was overwhelmed by the sudden changes in her life, she would prefer to have conversations with people rather than get asked to have pictures with them.
The Star Wars actress went on to explain that while she used to be an active user of Instagram, she chose to leave the social media circus and was pretty glad that she did. "I don't do social any more. I came off it last September and I will never get back on. The more I read about teenage anxiety, the more I think it's highly unhealthy for people's mental health. It's such a weird thing for young people to look at distorted images of things they should be."
Ridley plays the role of Rey, a scavenger toughened by life on a planet called Jakku. Rey is a main character in the new Star Wars series that is reported to be a trilogy. The most recent film, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," is hitting the big screen theaters this Dec. 15.
Ridley started out her career starring in various minor roles in TV shows, an interactive film and a music video. She made her debut in a British indie film, "Scrawl," in 2015 before landing her major role in the popular sci-fi series.
Fame comes with big social responsibility. That being said, the young actress' sentiments regarding social media is not unshared by various scientific communities. One article covered by TIMES magazine discusses the correlation of social media use and high suicide rates among teenagers, with social media being associated to insecurity bought upon by other people's "perfect life" posts and cyberbullying.
