Billy Bragg, Mary Walsh explore digital sins in interactive documentary

TORONTO – One in three people wind up more depressed after looking at Facebook, and Newfoundland comedian Mary Walsh counts herself among them.

But Walsh — like many of us — can’t stop scrolling through endless cute cat videos and selfies, she admits in a new interactive online documentary launched by the National Film Board and The Guardian.

Called “Seven Digital Deadly Sins,” the documentary examines how 21st century technology has magnified our pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, wrath and sloth.

English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, novelist Gary Shteyngart, comic Josie Long, musician Bill Bailey and writer Jon Ronson join Walsh in exploring their own online “sins.”

For example, Bragg admits bashfully that he spends more time watching “epic fail” videos on YouTube and Googling himself than he does writing new songs.

The interactive documentary is already available on The Guardian’s website at http://digital-deadly-sins.theguardian.com/ and will launch June 12 on NFB.ca.

“Seven Digital Deadly Sins” was produced for the NFB by its award-winning Digital Studio in Vancouver.

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