Actress Emma Thompson Says Social Media Is Killing An Entire Generation

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Emma Thompson

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"Saving Mr. Banks" actress Emma Thompson is going off on social media in a new interview with Vanity Fair.

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The two-time Oscar winner says she would "rather have root canal treatment for the rest of my life than join Twitter," and would prefer "putting my head in the toilet and flushing it repeatedly" to Googling herself.

The 55-year-old actress goes so far as to say that social media is destructive to society as a whole. Read her full explanation below:

Listen, I'd rather have root canal treatment FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE than join Twitter. That's not my scene at all. I can't bear the thought of being connected all the time. God knows what it's all doing to us. I hope that everyone does realize that we are all just one giant human experiment at the moment. We are just a great big bunch of little gerbils on wheels.

In about 25 years time, maybe, a sudden generation will just drop dead. Everyone will just die on the same day. And I'll say, "Oh, what do these people have in common? Hang on." They were connected every day 24/7, you know! And no one knew what it was going to do to them. No one knew! Because we didn't bother to find out. Because we're stupid! We invent stuff, we just fling it out there, we let anyone use it. A three-year-old could f------ be on Twitter. A three-year-old! And then they go on and on and on about everything that there is. And get reviewed every day by Facebook. And then we will wonder why, at the age of 60, an entire generation chucks itself off a cliff like a bunch of lemmings. Actually, that's the most likely outcome, don't you think? It's like, "I can't take this anymore!" It's the lemming generation, I'm telling you.

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When the interviewer followed up by asking Thompson if she ever Googles herself, the actress replies: "Putting my head in the toilet and flushing it repeatedly would be a more cleansing experience."

Read the rest of Thompson's blunt interview with Vanity Fair here >