E!: The show also seems like a reflection of how society and social media have advanced faster than we can adjust to it.
CR: We’re the patent period, right? We’re the pilot program, and more so as generations get smaller and smaller because of technological jumps, it’s like we’re passing the buck down the line even still. This story is set in 2014, which I remember really well. And I also remember the dial up tone. I imagine it’s even more relatable to younger people. Congregating with other people is more and more online. And I just wonder if it’s healthy, if that’s good.
E!: Do you think the next generation will handle social media better because they’ve grown up with it?
CR: I think they already do. I’m 26, so when I look to younger people and how comfortable they are in their skin—because they actually see themselves quite a bit more. You video yourself. You take more photos of yourself. It’s a really beautiful thing to witness because it’s taken me a lot longer. They see the deeper-seated issue. And they’re going, “I can hype myself up through all that mess.” For that reason, it’s hopeful. Maybe there’s a way to live congruently with all this stuff, with all this online space.
Honestly, promoting a project is the worst part for me because right now, I have to be posting more on Instagram to be like, “Hey, watch my show!” And I just finished Girl From Plainville so I have a very different relationship with social media all of a sudden. Every time I post, I’m like, “Oh God, what am I doing? Why am I participating?”