Black Mirror actress Siena Kelly has candidly disclosed her personal motivations behind abandoning the world of social media eight years ago.
Appearing on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, the 29-year-old actress opened up about her digital detox while discussing the latest instalment of the Netflix phenomenon, which aired on April 20.
During the show, host Tim Lovejoy quizzed her about her online presence, to which Siena revealed: “I don’t have any social media, no.”
The conversation steered towards lifestyle choices, with Siena confirming she is currently taking time off from not just social media, but also streaming platforms and film: “Yeah I’m in the middle of a break from streaming services, TV and film right now.”
Tim, clearly taken aback by Siena’s stance, expressed both astonishment and admiration: “Wow, I love it by the way and I respect you because I’m so addicted to everything.”, reports Surrey Live.
Probing further into her reasoning, he asked why she decided to cut herself off, leading Siena to reflect on her formative years amid the rise of social networks: “I came off social media eight years ago when I was 21. I was the generation that went through puberty with social media.”
Continuing her introspection, she remarked on the early days of online interaction: “I was maybe 11 when Facebook was invented so I had all of it and we didn’t know at that point it wasn’t good for us.”
Siena explained her awakening to the excessive nature of her online activity: “I just became very aware I was spending a lot of time, more time creating myself online than investing in myself in person.”
She added how her virtual life was influencing her real-world decisions: “I was going to places so I could post it on Instagram. I came off because I’m weak. It’s not good for me.”
The discussion touched on the pressures actors face to maintain an online persona due to the industry’s shift towards valuing social media clout, with Tim probing: “There’s a lot of pressure now on actors to have social media following and they’re getting work from it, we know that for a fact, if you’ve got six million you’re going to get the gig, do you not feel pressure you need that to get the work.”
Siena stated: “Occasionally but I’m not going to do it, it’s not going to happen. I’m not willing to sacrifice my mental health.”
Simon Rimmer, Tim’s co-host, later queried: “How does your agent react to it though?”. To which Siena reassured Simon: “Really supportive but I’m not willing to do so if i means at some point I have to leave the industry and figure out something else, I just don’t think it’s worth it.”
Black Mirror is available to stream on Netflix and Sunday Brunch airs weekly on Channel 4 at 10am
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