Guess Who’s Back? Selena Gomez Returns to Instagram After Four Years: ‘Can You Tell I’m Back?’
Selena Gomez is back. The singer and Only Murders in the Building star who was the second-most-followed woman on Instagram when she quit the social network more than four years ago quietly returned on Wednesday (Jan. 11) with a low-key series of bathroom selfies and the message, “Wait can you tell I’m back on Instagram?”
A year ago, Gomez opened up to InStyle about her troubled relationship with the app, on which she now has 369 million followers. “I became aware that my little world is complicated, but the picture is much bigger than the stuff I deal with. I have problems with depression and anxiety, and I found it difficult for me to be me,” she told the publication at the time. “I didn’t want to post anything on social media because I realized that I was in a situation where I was extremely blessed. What could I possibly post or say?”
So, Gomez, 30, deleted Insta from her phone and turned the keys over to a member of her team after realizing that she had an unhealthy relationship with the app and other forms of social media. “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,” said the singer who has been open about her struggles with bipolar disorder and anxiety in the past.
“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,” she explained. “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.”
Check out Gomez’s post below.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health issues, reach out to SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for free, confidential support and resources 24/7.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard
