Jenna Ortega Thinks Social Media Makes It ‘Harder to Find a Sense of Self’ for the Younger Generation

NEED TO KNOW

• Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday Addams on Wednesday

• The actress talked about why she believes the show resonates with a younger audience in a new interview

• She also addressed how she thinks social media is affecting today’s world

Jenna Ortega believes Wednesday has resonated with audiences for more reasons than one.

The actress, 22, who stars as the titular character, told the BBC in an interview published on Wednesday, July 30, that she believes the Netflix show has found success because it explores themes of “where we find our sense of community now.”

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

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Ortega believes that nowadays people are not talking in person, instead “interacting and finding their community online” — something she said “can be very isolating.”

The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star said that social media makes people exposed to “so many voices and so many opinions.”

“Much more than you would typically be, or that humans are kind of meant to be exposed to,” she said. “So I think it’s harder to find a sense of self. 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?’ “

During an appearance on The Interview podcast with The New York Times last August, Ortega opened up about the negative experiences she’s had with social media, particularly when she was a kid.

“I hate AI,” she said at the time. “… 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.”

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Season 2, part 1 of Wednesday will debut on Netflix on Wednesday, Aug. 6, followed by part 2 on Wednesday, Sept. 3. Season 1 of Wednesday is available to stream in full on Netflix.

Read the original article on People