Sophie Turner on her 'love-hate relationship with social media' and why it makes her 'incredibly anxious'

2022 is looking quite promising for Sophie Turner.

In an interview for ELLE UK's June cover story, the 26-year-old actress talked about her new HBO series and prepping daughter Willa, 2, for the transition from only child to big sister.

"I'll point to my stomach and say, 'What's in there?' And she'll go, 'Baby.' But then she points to her own stomach and says, 'Baby,' and then she'll point to her dad's tummy and say, 'Baby.' So, I think she just thinks that a belly is a baby and that's the name for it," Turner explained to the magazine.

While Willa is only a toddler, Turner and husband Joe Jonas are steadfast in their decision to shield her from the adverse effects of the entertainment industry.

"My daughter never asked for any of this. I know what it can do to your mental health to be in this industry and to be photographed every day and have the comments. It's not something I want her to deal with unless she says, 'This is what I want to do,'" she explained. "We're quite strict about that. We'll encourage her to do whatever she wants but I don't think we would professionally let her do anything until she's 18."

Turner, who started on Game of Thrones at just 15, is very familiar with the darker side of life in the public eye, often exacerbated by the pressures of social media.

"I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I wish I'd never got myself involved with it in the first place," she said. "I look at the comments on Instagram and think, 'Oh, f***. Everyone thinks this about me.' It would completely consume me."

She revealed that she has struggled with eating disorders in the past and it was actually the advice of a live-in therapist that helped her realize she was her biggest critic.

"One night, I was playing over and over in my mind a comment I'd seen on Instagram. I was like, 'I'm so fat, I'm so undesirable,' and spinning out. She said to me, 'You know, no one actually cares. I know you think this, but nobody else is thinking it. You're not that important,'" Turner explained.

She said the piece of advice "was the best thing anyone could have told me."

And while the perspective was helpful, she still opted to delete the app for her phone "live real life."

"I have noticed that social media makes me incredibly anxious and it's something I try to distance myself from," Turner said. "Having it off my phone has been so helpful. Now, if I do have to go on it, it's for a few minutes once or twice a week, rather than hours every day. It's made such a difference. Live real life – it's much more fun."

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorders Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.

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