Selena Gomez Says She ‘Could Not Have Been More Happy’ About Leaving Instagram
Selena Gomez is opening up about why she’s off social media. The 28-year-old has been off the internet for three years. Despite still having official Instagram and Twitter accounts — someone else on Gomez’s team does the posting — the “Lose You to Love Me” singer, who may or may not someday retire from music, doesn’t scroll through photos or read comments.
Selena Gomez ‘was tired of reading horrible things’ and ‘seeing other people’s lives’ on Instagram
Gomez discussed her decision to step back from Instagram (and Twitter) in a cover interview for Vogue’s April 2021 issue. She described an average morning when she scrolled through the app only to realize she was over it.
“I woke up one morning and looked at Instagram, like every other person, and I was done,” she said. “I was tired of reading horrible things. I was tired of seeing other people’s lives.”
Gomez continued, saying she didn’t have any second thoughts about no longer managing her social media accounts or being able to connect with her fans aka Selenators.
“After that decision, it was instant freedom,” she explained. “My life in front of me was my life, and I was present, and I could not have been more happy about it.”
As for the people who wonder if Gomez is secretly on social media?
“Everyone always asks me, ‘Are you secretly on; are you lying?’ and I’m like, ‘I have no reason to lie,’” she added.
So, while Gomez prepares for her Spanish album to drop on March 12, 2021, she won’t be covertly checking social media to check on Selenators.
Selena Gomez sends photos and text to her assistant to post on her social media accounts
Gomez ditched Instagram but she still has a massive presence on the app. At the time of publication, she has 215 million followers. There’s activity on her account but she’s not the one actually uploading photos and videos. Gomez has given that particular job to her assistant.
The former Disney star told Vogue she sends photos and text to her assistant who then handles uploading. The same goes for Twitter. Gomez might write something up but she’s not hitting “tweet” and sharing her thoughts with her 65 million Twitter followers.
Back in March 2017, Gomez told Vogue she no longer had the Instagram app on her phone. She also shared she didn’t even have the password to her account, her assistant did.
Selena Gomez ‘freaked out’ when she became the most followed person on Instagram
In the same March 2017 conversation, Gomez opened up about what went through her head when she racked up more followers than any other person on Instagram.
“As soon as I became the most followed person on Instagram, I sort of freaked out,” she said. “It had become so consuming to me. It’s what I woke up to and went to sleep to.”
“I was an addict,” she added, “And it felt like I was seeing things I didn’t want to see, like it was putting things in my head that I didn’t want to care about. I always end up feeling like sh*t when I look at Instagram.”
