How Long Has Selena Gomez Been Off the Internet?
Selena Gomez is in a unique position when it comes to her online presence. She has the distinction of being one of the most-followed people on Instagram. However, according to her, it's been more than four years since she's last used the internet personally.
In 2016, the "Lose You To Love Me" singer's Instagram account amassed nearly 70 million followers, according to Vanity Fair. That made her the most popular person on the platform. In 2022 her follower count has ballooned to a staggering 310 million. Casual.
That's a doubly impressive number considering Gomez doesn't even have the Instagram app installed on her phone.
Taking it a step further, the Only Murders in the Building star recently told Good Morning America that her screen time online is nonexistent and has been for years.
"I haven't been on the internet in four and a half years," she said. "It has changed my life completely."
How so?
"I am happier. I am more present. I connect more with people," she explained. "It makes me feel normal."
Watch the segment, below. The internet discussion takes place around the 2:30 mark:
You've likely noticed that the star is still posting content on Instagram even though she hasn't checked her account. There's an explanation for that.
Gomez told Elle that she helps her team plan out her social media content, but she doesn't watch it go live on the app. She hasn't been the one hitting the post button since 2017.
“I don’t have it [Instagram] on my phone, so there’s no temptation," she told the publication. "I suddenly had to learn how to be with myself. That was annoying, because in the past, I could spend hours looking at other people’s lives. I would find myself down nearly two years in someone’s feed, and then I’d realize, ‘I don’t even know this person!'"
She reiterated her dedication to living life offline in an interview with Vogue.
“Everyone always asks me, ‘Are you secretly on? Are you lying?’ And I’m like, ‘I have no reason to lie.’”
In the same interview, Gomez revealed she has a different way of staying abreast with the news since she's not online. The hit-maker told Vogue that "an older woman that I'm really close with" keeps her in the know.
That does sound like a much healthier alternative to the internet...