Daisy Ridley ends her social media hiatus, declares “Year of Yes”

Star Wars leading lady Daisy Ridley called it quits on her break from social media today as she prepares for her “Year of Yes.”

The actress, who plays Rey Skywalker in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (which comprises The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker), posted a photo to her Instagram account earlier today, depicting her relaxing in a cushioned chair, wrapped in a bathrobe, and sipping a beverage.

Ridley first quit social media in 2016, when her tribute to victims of gun violence at that year’s Kids’ Choice Awards led to intensive backlash from the platform, with many casting her as hypocrite for raising that type of awareness while also starring in the Star Wars franchise, itself a violent series.

The actress would go on to criticize social media in the years that followed, remarking in a 2017 interview with The Guardian that it was “highly unhealthy for people’s mental health.” She compounded this in a 2019 interview with BuzzFeed, where she claimed she would never return to social media.

Ridley’s experiences and opinions are far from isolated. The link between social media and poor mental health has been a topic of colloquial and academic conversation for some time now, and while many acknowledge social media as the useful tool it can be, it’s largely understood as a common acquaintance of declining mental health.

Ridley most recently portrayed protagonist Helena Pelletier in the upcoming psychological thriller The Marsh King’s Daughter, directed by Neil Burger. While the film has no set release date at the time of writing, it’s confirmed to stream on Amazon Prime Video.