Lindsay Lohan says she wishes she had social media to ‘control her own narrative’ during rise to fame

‘I think it’s really good that in this day and age, people can say who they are and who they want to be’

Lindsay Lohan revealed in a new interview that she wished she had social media throughout her rise to fame because it may have helped her control her “own narrative”.

The 36-year-old shared her candid thoughts about social media during an interview with Cosmopolitan on Monday for the cover of the magazine’s latest issue.

Lohan, who first started acting at the age of five, told the publication that while “there’s too much” of social media nowadays, there are still parts about it that are “nice”. She noted how different her life could have been if social media had existed during the early days of her career.

“When I first started out in the business, none of us had a say in how to control our own narrative,” the Freaky Friday star said. “There were paparazzi pictures, and then people ran with it. So I think it’s really good that in this day and age, people can say who they are and who they want to be. And I admire and appreciate that.”

She went on to say she’s a bit “jealous” of people who did grow up with social media and shared some strategies she keeps in mind when using it, such as being cautious about what she posts.

“I think it moves really fast and I just try to keep up as best I can,” she continued. “And I check everything before I post it. I’ll send it to people. Because you have to.”

When discussing the difficulties of social media, like trolls and the pressure to have a good reputation online, Lohan said that she tries not to let negative things get to her.

“You have to take everything people say with a grain of salt and just be you,” The Parent Trap star added. “And slow down, because everyone’s so quick right now. People just don’t stop. You’ve got to chill.”

While Lohan opted to stay out of the spotlight in recent years, moving to Dubai in 2014 with her now-husband Bader Shamma, now she’s officially returned to acting. Her newest rom-com, Falling For Christmas, comes out on Netflix this month.

During her conversation with Cosmopolitan, she also discussed how busy she’s been with work and how much she’s enjoying acting again.

“It’s fun to be back in New York and doing shoots. And I love this part of the process,” she said. “After you’ve filmed, this is the fun part. So I feel really great and just really excited and happy.”

The Mean Girls star also acknowledged that as her approach to acting has continued “evolving”, there are many different things that she considers when taking on a new role.

“It comes very naturally to me to play a role, especially in a romantic comedy, so it doesn’t always feel like work,” Lohan added. “But when you really look at the character and how much more you can give people onscreen through the character’s eyes, there’s so much to play with and change.”