Why Selena Gomez Is Cautious on Social Media

Selena Gomez is opening up about the dark side of social media as she inches back into the spotlight.

The 26-year-old singer and actress has become more private in recent years as she battled personal turmoil. This week, she made rare public appearances at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival to promote the zombie movie The Dead Don’t Die, her first onscreen film role since 2016. Gomez, who has more than 150 million Instagram followers, has also posted less on social media than many other celebs amid her struggles. At a Cannes press conference for her new movie on Wednesday, she addressed the issue of such exposure, as it pertains to her and her fans.

“I think our world is going through a lot,” Gomez said, according to Variety. “I would say for my generation, specifically, social media has really been terrible. It does scare me when you see how exposed these young boys and young girls are. They are not aware of the news. I think it’s dangerous for sure. I don’t think people are getting the right information sometimes.”

“I think it’s pretty impossible to make it safe at this point,” Gomez said. “I’m grateful I have the platform. I don’t do a lot of pointless pictures. For me, I like to be intentional with it. It just scares me. I’ll see these young girls at meet and greets. They are devastated, dealing with bullying and not being able to have their own voice. It can be great in moments. I would be careful and allow yourself some time limits of when you should use it.”

Gomez’s turmoil has been largely health-related. In 2015, she revealed she has lupus diagnosis and two years later, she underwent a kidney transplant. In 2018, she hospitalized for conditions related to her autoimmune disease and underwent treatment to battle anxiety and depression, which are common lupus symptoms. Also in 2018, she and Justin Bieber split after a rekindled romance, and he went on to romance and marry another on-again, off-again flame, Hailey Bieber, formerly Hailey Bieber. Gomez attended no celebrity events that year.