Selena Gomez back on Instagram after years-long break
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Actress-singer Selena Gomez has returned to Instagram after taking a self-imposed break from the app that lasted more than four years.
Gomez announced her official return with mirror selfies simply captioned, "Wait can you tell I’m back on Instagram?"
The photos were posted the same day Gomez attended the 2023 Golden Globes, where she was up for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for her role in "Only Murders in the Building." She lost to Quinta Brunson, star of "Abbott Elementary."
The actress deleted Instagram from her phone after admitting using the app took a toll on her mental health, particularly bipolar disorder and anxiety, and handed over control of her social media accounts to her team.
“At one point Instagram became my whole world, and it was really dangerous," Gomez told InStyle in an interview. "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.”
Gomez said the decision was the best one she ever made for her mental health. "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.”
Prior to her deletion of the app, Gomez was dubbed "the Queen of Instagram" in 2016 upon becoming the most-followed celebrity on the social media platform.
As of this writing, Gomez has 369 million followers on Instagram and is the fifth most-followed account behind the app's official account, footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and fellow television personality Kylie Jenner.
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