Selena Gomez Calls Getting Rid of Instagram the ‘Most Rewarding Gift’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Selena Gomez calls her time away from Instagram “the most rewarding gift.”
“I took four years off of Instagram, and I let my team post for me,” she explained at the 2024 TIME 100 Summit.
Gomez’s Instagram account has 429 million followers, making her the most-followed woman on the app.
“I felt like it was the most rewarding gift I gave myself,” she said of her time away from Instagram. “I was more present. I was happier.”
Gomez shared that, instead of scrolling through her feed and liking friends’ posts, she started connecting with them over the phone, saying, “It’s more human. I think it’s important to take breaks.”
The ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING star frequently talks about her decision to take regular breaks from social media.
“I haven’t been on the internet in four and a half years,” she said in a 2022 interview with GOOD MORNING AMERICA. “It has changed my life completely.”
Gomez continued, “I am happier, I am more present, I connect more with people. It makes me feel normal.”
In another interview, she shared that she doesn’t have social media on her phone, which removes “the temptation.”
“Now I get information the proper way,” Gomez explained. “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?’”
She concluded, “This tiny little phone that had 150 million people on it — I just put it down. That was such a relief for me.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Gomez’s openness about her struggles with mental health:
Gomez has long been an outspoken supporter of mental wellness. The actress and singer is in the process of launching “Wondermind,” a mental health platform that she co-founded with her mother, Mandy Teefey.
She’s been open with her own mental health journey, as well. Gomez recently revealed that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2020.
“It was really freeing [being diagnosed with bipolar disorder] to have the information,” Gomez explained. “It made me really happy because I started to have a relationship with myself, and I think that’s the best part. Like, I’ve probably been the happiest I’ve ever been. My mom knows.”
Gomez’s own struggles with mental wellness are what led her to creating “Wondermind.”
“Growing up in the spotlight has definitely taught me so much,” Gomez said. “I can’t believe I am where I am mentally just because of how I took the necessary steps in order to kind of remove myself from that because it’s just not normal. I really want people to be understood and seen and heard. It’s okay to not be okay.”
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