Lucy Hale thinks social media takes over your mind like a "disease."
The 29-year-old actress – who checked into a wellness centre after she struggled to rediscover herself once filming for ‘Pretty Little Liars’ wrapped – has admitted she had no choice but delete her social networking sites because it was affecting her health.
Speaking to Haute Living magazine, she said: "It’s almost like a disease. We’re all so addicted to it, and to what other people are saying.
"Honestly, I know it sounds cheesy to say that social media was affecting my happiness, but it really was. It was important for me to disconnect from that, to put down my phone occasionally and live the life around me."
The brunette beauty believes coming offline allowed her to stay grounded because social media is often a "highlights reel of a person’s life."
She explained: "It’s everyone on their best days, posting a picture they’ve probably taken a hundred times and put a million filters on.
"I’m not saying that I’m not looking for validation, because I’m not, but it’s nice to be at an age and time in my life where that’s not the most important thing, because for a long time, it was. It’s not anymore; I broke free.’
However, Lucy believes checking into the Canyon Ranch wellness and health spa earlier this year really helped her because she forced her to deal with things.
She said: "I have a fear of being alone and sitting with my feelings; I just hate that. I overthink and over analyse. I was dealing with and thinking about things and emotionally bottling a bunch of stuff, and I finally dealt with some of those things there by hiking and meditating and sitting with myself."
Lucy Hale thinks social media is like a ‘disease’
