AOC is Latest Leftist Celebrity to Quit Facebook, Calls Social Media “Public Health Risk”
Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told listeners to a Yahoo News podcast that she has quit Facebook, is scaling back on her social media use, and considers the popular websites a “public health risk.”
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has frequently leveraged her large Twitter following against her political opponents, but now the freshman congresswoman says she is curbing her use of social media, ending use of Facebook altogether, and warns that the big tech giants pose a “public health risk” to consumers, especially those under the age of three.
In the podcast, Ocasio-Cortez revealed she has deactivated her Facebook account and plans to stop using the platform. However, she will continue to use Instagram, a subsidiary of Facebook.
Ocasio-Cortez also explained that she tries to limit her use of social media to weekdays, taking weekends off from the platforms. She said while she will sometimes use Twitter during weekends, she said “I take consumption of content, when it comes to consumption and reading, I take the weekends off.”
She then said she believes social media to pose risks to public health.
“I actually think that social media poses a public health risk to everybody,” said Ocasio-Cortez “There are amplified impacts for young people, particularly children under the age of three with screen time.”
It is unknown how many toddlers use Facebook, which requires users to be at least 13 years of age to create an account.
The representative added, “But I think it has a lot of effects on older people. I think it has effects on everybody. Increased isolation, depression, anxiety, addiction, escapism.”
Ocasio-Cortez made the remarks during an appearance on Yahoo News’ Skullduggery podcast on Sunday.
Big League Politics reported on the exodus of left wing celebrities from Facebook last year.
MSNBC host Kasie Hunt deleted her Facebook last year after the network became embroiled in several controversies related to privacy and politics, saying she no longer trusts the platform. She joined Cher in her decision to leave the platform.
Cher, who recently came out against illegal immigration after President Donald J. Trump proposed shipping illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities, accused Facebook of “colluding with the Russians” to interfere with elections in the United States.
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