Throughout the past eight years or so, Selena Gomez politely declined to engage in social media on multiple occasions. Her latest departure came on January 9, after the Only Murders in the Building star became the target of gossip at the Golden Globes two days prior. The Instagram break felt shorter than Jo Koy’s opening monologue. It’s probably the seventh time Gomez vowed to give up the internet, only to find herself unable to escape the temptation of posting. We say probably because it’s impossible to identify just how often she leaves, considering the ephemerality of Instagram stories and the speed at which she returns. “I’m off social for a while,” she wrote in her most recent “Goodbye to All That.” “I’m focusing on what really matters.” Hours later, she logged back on, denying the rumors that Timothée Chalamet allegedly dissed her at the awards ceremony in a comment on an E! News Instagram post. Hasn’t the Selena + Chef host done this before? And how long have her breaks lasted? Naturally, we had to cook up a list.
That time she put her mental health first:
Cutoff: Around March 2016
Reason: Becoming the most followed person on Instagram. “I sort of freaked out,” Gomez told Vogue in a March 2017 cover story. “It had become so consuming to me. It’s what I woke up to and went to sleep to. I was an addict, and it felt like I was seeing things I didn’t want to see, like it was putting things in my head that I didn’t want to care about. I always end up feeling like shit when I look at Instagram. Which is why I’m kind of under the radar, ghosting it a bit.”
How long did she last? With this specific announcement, it’s unclear if she went cold turkey or if she was only using Instagram sparingly. What we do know is that she posted 19 times in March 2016, when she surpassed bestie Taylor Swift to officially become the most followed person.
That time she was really susceptible to toxicity:
Cutoff: September 23, 2018
Reason: Her final breakup with Justin Bieber. “taking a social media break. Again,” she captioned an Instagram post. “Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi.” By January 2022, she was still keeping her social media under lock and key. “I created a system where I still don’t have my passwords,” she revealed to InStyle. “And the unnecessary hate and comparisons went away once I put my phone down.” In an interview with Fast Company in 2023, she recalled her split with Bieber and her subsequent IG detox. “I had just gotten my heart broken. I didn’t need to see what everyone was doing,” she said. “Then there were those moments of not feeling positive about how I looked because of what I’d see on Instagram. Wow, I wish my body looked like that.”
How long did she last? One hundred and 13 days. She posted on Instagram January 14, 2019, to wish fans a happy new year. Gomez claims the break lasted far longer than that. In an interview on Good Morning America in April 2022, she maintained she didn’t go on the internet for “four and a half years.” She probably meant three and a half, considering it had only been three and a half years since her Instagram announcement. That being said, her or her team kept her feed alive during the “break.”
That time she finished up promoting her album:
Cutoff: January 8, 2020
Reason: Concluding album promo. “I got back on [Instagram] because I was releasing music, but I just told my best friend Courtney [Lopez] yesterday, I’m going to have to take it off my phone again soon,” she explained in a Wall Street Journal feature. “They know I have an addictive personality, and it can be unhealthy.”
How long did she last? Well. When she admitted to getting back for Rare album promotions, she was in the middle of an allegedly four-and-a-half-year hiatus. We assume she logged off after the interview.
That time she recognized her big age:
Cutoff: February 23, 2023
Reason: Drama involving herself, Hailey Bieber, and Bieber’s friends Kendall and Kylie Jenner. “I’m gonna be taking a second from social media cause this is a little silly and I’m 30, I’m too old for this,” Gomez told fans in an TikTok livestream. Here’s a primer on the drama: Bieber lip-synced a lyric on TikTok that seemed to shade her husband’s ex Gomez in early February 2023. Later that month, Bieber posted a video with Kylie that some read as another jab at Gomez, this time allegedly making fun of her eyebrows. Kylie denied the allegations. No matter the official renunciation — fans went wild with theories about the videos and sent Bieber death threats, all until Gomez formally called a truce with Bieber in March 2023.
How long did she last? Three days (Instagram); nine days (TikTok).
That time she commented on Israel’s war in Gaza:
Cutoff: October 30, 2023
Reason: “Because my heart breaks to see all the horror, hate, violence, and terror that’s going on in the world,” People reported. After she earned criticism for liking pro-Israel supporter Amy Schumer’s Instagram post about the war in Gaza, Gomez released a statement on her Instagram Story, saying, “we need to protect ALL people, especially children and stop the violence for good.” Adding, “I wish I could change the world. But a post won’t.”
How long did she last? Less than 24 hours. She posted a picture of herself on her Instagram Story holding a plate of food in a restaurant’s kitchen. It took her 27 days to post on the grid again.
That time she defended her new man:
Cutoff: December 7, 2023
Reason: Fan criticism over her new boyfriend, the producer Benny Blanco, who primarily focuses on music targeted at grocery store playlists. Gomez did a new trick to announce this IG break — she slid into comment sections of one of Instagram’s random pop-culture page, Pop Faction. After one account said Gomez was using her relationship to troll fans, she denied the accusation, saying she know’s “whats best” for her since she’s been in therapy “since I was 18.” A different fan said she was “doing the absolute most” in the comments of one post from Pop Faction, “but when asked to stand with the people of 🍉 all of a sudden she had to take a social media bre— *call drops*,” using the watermelon emoji to reference Palestine. Gomez directly responded to their comment. “You’re right,” she wrote.
“I’m leaving Insta for a while until I have work again. I just stand up for what I believe in, I have no shame in doing that,” Gomez noted, adding, “I love my fans more than anything in the world.”
How long did she last? Around 24 hours. She posted a selfie on her Instagram Story. It was giving that one meme where the dog smiles with a cup of coffee in a burning home. “This is fine,” reads the meme’s speech bubble.
That time she wanted to apparate out of the fray.
Cutoff: January 9, 2024
Reason: “I’m focusing on what really matters.” She posted the notice on her Instagram Story, accompanied by a video of her boyfriend, Benny Blanco (sorry, it’s just one of those names where you have to say the full thing, like Danny DeVito).
How long did she last? Hours. She had to run to the comment section of an E! News Instagram post reporting on the speculated Golden Globes drama between Gomez, Taylor Swift, and Kylie Jenner. Was the “Single Soon” singer truly telling Swift that she was upset over Jenner’s BF, Timothée Chalamet, allegedly refusing to take a picture with her? “Noooooo I told Taylor about two of my friends who hooked up,” E! News reported, “Not that that’s anyone [sic] business.”
Honorable Mention: Selena Gomez Vows to Never Be a Meme Again
Cut-off September 13, 2023
Reason: Becoming a viral meme after making a funny face at the 2023 VMAs. “I’d rather sit still than be dragged for being myself,” she posted on her Instagram story. “Much love.”
How long did she last? 0 minutes, give or take. Like, Gomez memed herself that same day. “She looks stunning I look constipated,” she captioned an Instagram story of herself and BFF Swift. “Typical.”
