Selena Gomez has a pretty genius method for dealing with cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is an unfortunate side effect for too many people who are active on social media and if you’re the most followed person on Instagram, it’s practically a given. Selena Gomez, who took the throne from Taylor Swift back in March, spoke to Teen Vogue on Monday about how she deals with negativity online — and what we can all learn from it.
First things first: Selena wants anyone out there dealing with cyberbullying to know they’re not alone. Pretty much everyone (unfortunately) deals with bullying behavior online at one time or another. “It doesn’t matter if mine is on a bigger scale,” she said, speaking about her 82.5 million followers on Instagram.
For the most part, Selena said tries not to engage. “I don’t wanna let it get to me,” she explain. “And I really just want to be strong for all of my fans who have gone through it.”
There are a few things that she will respond to, like comments about her disease. Last year, the star opened up about her struggles with lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease, so she’ll use Instagram as a place to remind haters that they should think twice before posting. “I’ll get very defensive,” she explained. “I’ll say, ‘you don’t understand unless you’ve experienced it, I don’t think it’s fair,’ something like that.”
However, there are times when being online and dealing with comments becomes too much, so when all else fails, she has a pretty extreme method for keeping the bullying at bay. “My suggestion is . . . just [don’t] be on it for a few days,” she said.
Selena said she’ll log out of Instagram, and any other apps, for a few days at a time, going through a cleanse that stops her from getting sucked in. When she really needs to stay connected, she’ll post a photo from her assistant’s phone. While we may not have assistants (yet!) ourselves, we can do the same with trusted friends.
We can totally relate to Selena’s need to unplug, and it’s comforting to know that she’s taking care of herself -— and inspiring us to do the same!