Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has nearly 4 million Twitter followers, announces she is quitting Facebook and cutting back on social media because it is a ‘public health risk’ Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, is quitting Facebook She says social media can lead to increased isolation and feelings of depression Popular Democrat and New York Rep. has nearly 4 million followers on TwitterBy Danyal Hussain For Mailonline Published: 09:55 BST, 16 April 2019 | Updated: 09:55 BST, 16 April 2019 Viewcomments Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has revealed that she is quitting Facebook and cutting down on her use of social media because it is a 'public health risk'. The representative for New York, popularly referred to as AOC, admitted that Facebook was crucial to her campaign but said that social media can lead to 'increased isolation, depression, anxiety, addiction, escapism.' The 29-year-old's statement comes less than a month after advising her supporters and constituents to contact her on Twitter. Ocasio-Cortez has a staggering 3.94 million followers on the social media platform. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is cutting back on social media because it is a 'public health risk' She announced her departure from Facebook in an interview on Sunday with the Yahoo News podcast 'Skullduggery'. She said: 'I personally gave up Facebook, which was kind of a big deal because I started my campaign on Facebook. And Facebook was my primary digital organising tool for a very long time. I gave up on it. 'There are amplified impacts for young people, particularly children under the age of 3, with screen time. But I think it has a lot of effects on older people. I think it has effects on everybody. Increased isolation, depression, anxiety, addiction, escapism. 'I’ve started to kind of impose little rules on myself.' Ocasio-Cortez, popularly referred to as AOC, has a staggering 3.94 million followers on the social media platform. She admitted that she still has accounts on Facebook, as well as several active adverts sponsored by her campaign. Ocasio-Cortez rapid rise in US politics has been partly credited to her ability to use social media to mobilise support. In a recent Time profile, it was revealed that she gets so many death threats online that her aides are trained to evaluate all of her visitors. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility