Actor Timothée Chalamet made some damning comments about the state of social media.
The 26-year-old was speaking at the Venice Film Festival to promote his new movie Bones and All.
It was there he spoke about what he thinks the effect social media has on kids today.
His thoughts on the matter weren’t very charitable.
Chalamet’s new movie sees the actor play a cannibal who falls in love with a fellow cannibal as the two take a trip across 1980s America.
The strange horror, cannibal romance also acts as a coming-of-age film in a very different time period.
It's a strange setup, but that’s not to say there isn’t something Chalamet couldn’t find inspiring in the role.
He said:
“To be young now, and to be young whenever—I can only speak for my generation—is to be intensely judged.”
“I can’t imagine what it is to grow up with the onslaught of social media, and it was a relief to play characters that are wrestling with an internal dilemma absent the ability to go on Reddit, or Twitter, Instagram or TikTok and figure out where they fit in.”
But it’s not to say social media just makes it difficult to figure yourself out.
According to Chalamet, there’s a sense of hopelessness.
“I think societal collapse is in the air— it smells like it—and, without being pretentious, that’s why hopefully movies matter, because that’s the role of the artist or so I’m told, to shine a light on what’s going on.”
Many online agreed with the actor’s comments.
Chalamet’s comments aren’t out of the ordinary.
According to a recent Pew study, 64% of Americans think social media has a mostly negative effect on the country.
For teenagersthere’s an increased exposure to peer pressure, cyber bullying and dangers to their mental health.
However the effect isn’t so clear cut. The proliferation of information and communication allows teens to find communities and support.
Regardless, some couldn’t agree with Chalamet’s view of possible ‘societal collapse’.
Chalamet himself doesn't use social media very often, though he will make a strange tweet to promote his new movie.
For Bones & All, he made a series of cryptic tweets referencing different types of bones.
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