There’s a good chance that you follow Selena Gomez on Instagram. The multi-hyphenate currently has about 286 million followers on the platform, making her account the seventh most-followed one overall. She was actually the most-followed person on Instagram for over two years before Cristiano Ronaldo took over that title (one he still holds today) in October 2018. Prior to that, only Instagram’s official account had more followers than Gomez. Now, though, Gomez admits that she used to have a “really dangerous” relationship with the platform.
In a new interview with InStyle, Gomez said of the role social media plays in her self-confidence:
“At one point, Instagram became my whole world, and it was really dangerous. In my early 20s, I felt like I wasn’t pretty enough. There was a whole period in my life when I thought I needed makeup and never wanted to be seen without it. The older I got, the more I evolved and realized that I needed to take control of what I was feeling. I wanted to be able to look in the mirror and feel confident to be who I am. Taking a break from social media was the best decision that I’ve ever made for my mental health. I created a system where I still don’t have my passwords. And the unnecessary hate and comparisons went away once I put my phone down. I’ll have moments where that weird feeling will come back, but now I have a much better relationship with myself.”
Gomez also noted that therapy and self-care have been great for her, saying, “I’m a big believer in therapy, and I always feel so confident when I’m taking care of myself. If I’m not in the best headspace and my friends invite me out, I won’t go. I’ve lost my sense of FOMO, which I’m proud of. Sometimes I push myself too much, and it catches up to me. But I try to balance out everything as best as I can. I like to be there for my friends and celebrate everyone. But I have to make sure that I’m OK, you know? Because if I’m not OK, I can’t be OK for other people.”
Check out the full interview here.