Joey King Opened Up About How Social Media Has Toyed With Her Confidence

"I have had to remind myself more now of reasons to be confident than I used to."

In a March 29th feature interview with Flaunt, actress Joey King reflects on how being so recognizable has made her shrink away from public perception. Having found mega fame as Elle Evans in Netflix’s The Kissing Booth franchise and propelling herself even further with her Emmy-nominated role as Gypsy Rose Blanchard in the Hulu limited series The Act, King has amassed a social media following over 18 million people at just 21 years old. And she’s still coming to terms with the fact that there’s no going back now.

Being an actor is so tough, because you have this image of who you are and what kind of image you want to present to other people, when in reality you have no control of what people think of you, King told Flaunt.

Like most young adults, King sees social media as both a blessing and a curse, however she is reacting more so to the latter idea. “I started to see the downside of people having so much information about you or to your personality or personal information,” she said, noting that she’s now extremely careful as to what she posts online.

She wants people to realize that social media is addicting and can do serious harm to all those who use it, noting she hopes “this new generation is taking the signs that are being thrown at them and why it is taking a downhill direction,” and that she wants her followers to “acknowledge it and not participate in the dark side of it.”

I have had to remind myself more now of reasons to be confident than I used to, King said.

However, King is putting in the work to be her best self, having just started therapy earlier this year. “I try not put too much pressure on myself because I always feel like I have, so being able to be like, ‘Hey, it’s okay that you’re anxious,’ or ‘It’s okay you’re overwhelmed and only answer one email.’ Just being able to say that, I feel better,” she said.

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