Selena Gomez got real about the impact social media had on her mental health.
In a new interview with Elle for the September issue, the 29-year-old actress shared how she often couldn’t grapple with the constant public scrutiny from the media and fans while growing up in the spotlight during her days on the Disney Channel. Going through a very public breakup with Justin Bieber and undergoing a kidney transplant due to a lupus diagnosis at a young age only compounded that pressure and inevitably led to her mental health struggles. Gomez explained to the publication:
“For a while, I felt like an object. It felt gross for a long time.”
Related: Selena Gomez Talks Signing Her ‘Life Away To Disney’ When She Was Too Young To Know Better
So to gain back control of her mental health, the Wizards of Waverly Place alum decided to ditch her Instagram account in 2017 — the same year she became the most-followed person on the platform. Now, if you’re one of the 253 million people who follow Selena, then you already know the amateur cook has a pretty active account, so clearly, she hasn’t entirely stepped away!
Instead, the Same Old Love singer explained that she creates the content, but doesn’t have any access to the account or passwords. That privilege apparently fell into the hands of her assistant, who publishes the content we see daily. Selena doesn’t even keep the app on her phone anymore in order to avoid spending hours scrolling through negative comments and other people’s feeds, spilling:
“I don’t have it on my phone, so there’s no temptation. I suddenly had to learn how to be with myself. That was annoying because in the past, I could spend hours looking at other people’s lives. I would find myself down nearly two years in someone’s feed, and then I’d realize, ‘I don’t even know this person!’ Now I get information the proper way. When my friends have something to talk about, they call me and say, ‘Oh, I did this.’ They don’t say, ‘Wait, did you see my post?’”
Honestly, we could probably all take a page from Selena’s social media playbook! She added that staying away from Insta has also allowed her to focus more on her personal and professional life:
“I felt like I was suddenly able to be so present.”
And as we all have seen, Gomez is truly thriving these days! Not only has the performer created her cosmetic line Rare Beauty, but she has also moved back into acting with her upcoming series Only Murders in the Building. On top of that, the star also developed Selena + Chef, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for nonprofits.
Yessss, girl! Take a look at some of Selena’s stunning Elle cover shots (below):
So proud of Selena for recognizing that she needed to distance herself from social media for her own well being!!! And you can read her full interview HERE for more!
[Image via Sheri Determan/WENN]
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