You may know Sydney Sweeney from her work in Euphoria or The White Lotus, which has been
Director Michael Mohan has called it a commentary on the culture of “stalking” social media has enabled.
“It’s the most unhealthy part of my life,” Sweeney, 23, told the Press Association. “The fact that I am second guessing and having anxiety over posting a picture is sickening.”
She said she believed this particular side of internet culture is a topic that has not been explored in film before.
“I’ve never seen a movie, especially present day, explore the detrimental side of our society,” she said.
“Because you’re constantly comparing yourself to their lives, what they’re wearing, where they are, what they look like, and I think that’s something that [my character] Pippa totally has a lot of problems with, and she’s comparing herself to across the window and the couple.”
For me social media is not just about voyeurism and cyber stalking although I find that concerning. My biggest issue is people comparing themselves to other people’s curated lives. Sydney said she gets anxiety before posting a picture and that she is constantly comparing her life to others. It is so dangerous to have this mindset. So many people create a fantasy life on social media that isn’t real. Honestly I don’t know the solution to this. We could encourage folks to not compare or compete with what they see on their timelines. But that would be like speaking to a wall.
I agree with director Mohan that social media has enabled people to participate in exhibitionism, voyeurism, and stalking. The sad truth is most people who are addicted to social media don’t recognize what they’re doing. I have spent less time on Instagram lately because I don’t want to put so much on display or watch other people’s lives. I look forward to seeing The Voyeurs and am waiting for season two of Euphoria. In the mean time I hope Sydney and others like her are able to find balance in their social media usage.
Here’s the trailer for The Voyeurs:
photos via Instagram
I had the same opinion of social media being the most toxic thing in my life until I stopped paying attention to my newsfeed of people I knew I focused on my “Groups” where I’ve gotten a lot of support from like-minded people for new moms, trauma survivors, ADHD, etc. The shift in my mood was swift and dramatic.
Same here- I’ve tailored mine to be all art, cats, friends, comedy, etc. I have 3 tv show fan groups I found that are only awesome, funny people, and anything or anyone unpleasant is removed or hidden.
Twitter gave me massive anxiety though, every time I tried using it over the years. So no more Twitter for me.
“I’ve never seen a movie, especially present day, explore the detrimental side of our society,” she said.
I mean, really? How can you be an actor and know nothing about movies?
Not to mention she’s in a movie that borrows heavily from Hitchcock’s Rear Window. And I must be getting old, because everyone in this looks like they’re barely out of high school, let alone college, & I cannot figure out how they can have the financial wherewithal to live in these fabulous apartments in what I assume is NYC.
I really don’t spend much time on social media and Instagram is almost exclusively about looking at adorable animals. It’s zero stress.
I don’t go on my fb anymore or my Insta. And I’m better off for it. I still go on Snapchat to talk to some ppl but that’s about it. Oh and tumblr but just for my tv shows/quotes sometimes