Sophie Turner says social media ‘almost destroyed’ her as teen star

British actor Sophie Turner is opening up about the impact of social media on her mental health while working on ‘Game of Thrones’ during her teenage years.

Turner was only 13 years old when she debuted as Sansa Stark on the HBO show. She went on to star in all eight seasons of the show.

While her role in ‘Game of Thrones’ garnered her widespread praise, the actor revealed that it also exposed her to social media.

“Social media was just really becoming a big thing after I started on ‘Game of Thrones,’ so I got a couple of years of peace and quiet and then I had to adjust,” Sophie Turner said.

The actor added, “It had such a profound impact on my mental health, like more than I could tell you. It almost destroyed me on numerous occasions.”

Read more: Sophie Turner recalls ‘worst’ moment from ‘The Dreadful’ shoot

She then expressed concerns about the child actors who are leading HBO’s upcoming ‘Harry Potter’ series.

The lead trio of the show includes newcomers such as Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout.

“I look at the kids who are about to be in the new ‘Harry Potter’ and I just want to give them a hug and say, ‘Look, it’s going to be okay but don’t go anywhere near [social media]. Stay friends with your home friends, keep living at home with your family, make sure your parents are your chaperones’ — it’s so important to have that grounding adjacent to the big, crazy stuff that you do,” she said.

It is worth noting here that HBO plans to premiere ‘Harry Potter’ series sometime in 2027.