Tung takes social media 'breaks' for mental health

The Summer I Turned Pretty star Lola Tung reveals how she manages millions of followers while filming one of streaming's biggest shows.

Life online can be “pretty stressful” if you star in one of the hottest shows on television.

American actor Lola Tung has millions of followers across various social media platforms, 4.2 million on Instagram alone, thanks to her huge profile as the lead on The Summer I Turned Pretty.

“I think taking breaks and not being on it when you don’t have to is kind of what I’ve found to be the healthiest thing,” Tung, 22, told The Daily Telegraph.

“I love posting about work and about the show and promoting the things that I’m doing because I’m excited about them, but I think in general it feels better mentally to not spend too much time on social media.”

The Summer I Turned Pretty cast member Lola Tung at North Bondi RSL. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Tung, co-star Rain Spencer and The Summer I Turned Pretty author Jenny Han are in Sydney this week to promote the third season of the cult-following Prime Video show.

“I just try not to take it so serious,” Spencer, 25, who has close to one million followers on Instagram, said.

“I look at it through a filter of like, I am happy that people are engaging and like the show and I see everything sort of through that lens. It is so cool that people want to talk about it, you know, regardless of what they’re saying, they’re talking about it, it is cool, special.”

Han is also relaxed about social media.

“I, for me, creatively like to, what I say, write with the door closed and so I think if you can open the door and be able to see what everyone’s saying and not let it affect the creative process, I think that’s really healthy and great,” Han said.

“So where you’re not thinking, ‘what are they gonna say if I do this or that’, it helps you to be able to take creative swings I think so I try to be pretty balanced about it.”

The Summer I Turned Pretty is based on a trilogy of books by Han based around the story of teenager Belly Conklin (Tung), who is involved in a love triangle with two brothers.

Careful with her words, Han was not closed to the idea of further stories involving Belly.

“I’m really happy to do the three seasons of TV with the three books that I’ve had, it feels very, like perfect,” Han, 44, said.

“I like my creativity and what is exciting to me to write about so I think if I really felt that creative urge, then I would love to return to the world.”