Jenna Ortega on social media's dark side: 'Can be very isolating'

Jenna Ortega shared her thoughts about social media and how it is isolating the youth.

In a recent interview with the BBC, the 22-year-old actress, who plays the iconic titular character in the hit Netflix series Wednesday, shared her thoughts on why the show connects with the audiences.

“I wasn't around in the 70s, but I hear stories of people knocking on their neighbours' doors, and the bikes going all throughout the city, and just expecting to meet someone at a certain time on a certain location,” Ortega recalled.

Now, she believes, most people are finding community online rather than in person — an experience that “can be very isolating.”

The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star also reflected on how constant exposure to social media affects young people. 

“So many voices and so many opinions,” she said, add up to “much more than you would typically be, or that humans are kind of meant to be exposed to.”

“It’s harder to find a sense of self,” she said. “Young people are struggling to find, ‘What makes my voice stand out? What is it about me in this world and this society today that gives me a sense of purpose or control or authority?’”

Ortega has been candid about her own difficulties navigating the online world. 

Speaking on The Interview podcast with The New York Times last year, she shared a harrowing early experience with social media. 

“Did I like being 14 [years old] and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to, and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It's terrifying. It's corrupt,” she said. “It’s wrong. It’s disgusting.”

She didn’t hold back on the issue of AI either. “I hate AI,” Ortega stated. “.. Did I like being 14 [years old] and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to, and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It's terrifying. It's corrupt.”

“It's wrong. It's disgusting,” added Ortega. "...Here's the problem, though. We've opened Pandora's box. Well, it is what it is. It's out there now. We're gonna have to deal with the consequences."