Daisy Ridley: Social media is bad for mental health

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Daisy RidleyImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Daisy Ridley deleted her social media after becoming famous

Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley says becoming famous made her delete her social media.

The 25-year-old, who stars as Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, quit Instagram earlier this year.

In an interview with Radio Times, she says she did it because of how bad it is for mental health.

Ridley says: "The more I read about teenage anxiety, the more I think it's highly unhealthy for people's mental health."

She adds: "It's such a weird thing for young people to look at distorted images of things they should be."

Image source, Lucasfilm
Image caption,
Daisy Ridley plays Rey in the Star Wars trilogy

Ridley's big break came in 2014 when she was cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Before that she had only had minor roles in Casualty and Mr Selfridge.

She says her "life suddenly got a bit different" after being cast in the sci-fi film franchise.

"I'm definitely recognised more, but I find the whole taking pictures thing weird," she says.

"I'd prefer to have a conversation than someone asking for a picture, but I guess people feel the need to prove they've had the interaction through social media."

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Ridley with her co-stars Gwendoline Christie, John Boyega and director Rian Johnson.

Ridley deleted her social media in September, following the likes of celebrities like Adele, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber, who have all deleted their accounts in the past after being overwhelmed by the online world.

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