Fans of Selena Gomez had quite a treat all weekend, as the singer-actress-TV producer was glued to Instagram from Friday night on. She shared intimate thoughts, launched an impromptu dress giveaway, and took us to a J.Lo. concert and to church. Then on Sunday night she decided it was all enough.
"Update: taking a social media break," Gomez wrote on Instagram, captioning a photo of herself looking extremely happy. "Again. As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given. Kindness and encouragement only for a bit! Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi."
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It was rather abrupt, given all she had been posting up until that point. Beginning on Friday, Gomez took to her Instagram Stories to show off a couple of items in her closet that she wanted to give away: One was the vintage sequined-and-feathered dress she wore in the "Back to You" video (shedding Justin Bieber memories?), and the other was an ice-skating costume from a fleeting desire to start a new hobby.
"So, if you want this dress, let me know, ’cause I will just send it along to you, because it has no use being in my closet whatsoever," she said of the "Back to You" dress.
Later that night, Gomez got more real in a since-deleted Instagram Live video. She spoke about her friendship with Taylor Swift, according to Elle, saying, "I love her. She's amazing. I just talked to her today. She is literally like my big sister, I tell her everything."
She also discussed a new song, "Rare," that she recorded for her upcoming album. "It’s a beautiful message about girls who don’t realize that they’re rare,” she said. “I don’t feel like girls are told enough that they’re rare. And this song is supposed to be an anthem for those girls."
Gomez also talked about her struggle with anxiety and depression, and shared a song by Christian singer Lauren Daigle, "This Girl," that she said lifts her up. At some point, she posted a regular Instagram video of herself giggling during a studio session. Later on in the weekend, she posted videos from backstage at a Jennifer Lopez concert in Las Vegas.
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"I just wanted to tell you how amazing god thinks you are!!!" Gomez wrote in an Instagram Stories post. "He was speaking to me through your show tonight!! Like made me feel like a woman!!"
A few hours after that, Gomez was in church, being distracted by a cute baby in the front row. Then, she was back home watching Step Brothers.
Gomez has a lot going on professionally, with her just launched Coach collaboration and a new album in the works, and there's that whole minor fact that her ex-boyfriend just got engaged and/or married. She has taken breaks from social media before, and must recognize how healthy that can be every once in a while.
"It’s an incredible platform, but in a lot of ways it’s given young people, myself included, a false representation of what’s important," she told Harper's Bazaar earlier this year. "So, yeah, it’s a complex relationship. Probably one of my most difficult relationships."
If you are experiencing depression and need support, please call the National Depressive/Manic-Depressive Association Hotline at 1-800-826-3632 or the Crisis Call Center’s 24-hour hotline at 1-775-784-8090.
If you are experiencing anxiety and are in need of crisis support, please call the Crisis Call Center’s 24-hour hotline at 1-775-784-8090.