If you've ever thought about deleting your social media accounts, you are not alone. Many celebrities have taken some time away from social media. Whether it was for health reasons, personal reasons or they were just too busy enjoying their real life. We don't blame them, it can be difficult being in the public eye and giving the fans unprecedented access to their private life.
Social media can be a double-edged sword to those in the spotlight, leaving singers, models, reality stars and actors open to being bullied, harassed and abused.
Whether they took a break from posting, wiped their entire social media accounts, or have ditched it forever, these stars have made headlines for deleting social media. Here are the stars who have spoken out about the darkness that lurks behind having an Instagram, Twitter or Facebook account and why they have chosen to quit social media entirely.
7 Selena Gomez
Despite being one of the most-followed people on Instagram, Selena Gomez left the social platform back in 2018. She revealed that her decision to quit social media, ultimately "saved" her life.
Although she initially wanted to delete her social profiles entirely, her team convinced her not to and offered to post on behalf of her. Although her social media accounts are active, someone posts for her, so she can stay away from the platforms.
"I'm happy I didn't, because it is such a wonderful way to stay connected, and when I do go on, it makes me happy to know that I'm just being completely honest and being true to who I am," she revealed. "I say that because that's a huge, significant part of why I feel like I've been as healthy as I have been [...] I'm completely unaware of actually what's going on in pop culture, and that makes me really happy. And maybe that doesn't make everybody else happy, but for me, it's really saved my life."
6 Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley doesn't have a social media presence, but that is not for lack of trying. She revealed on a British talk show that she has a Twitter account but took it down after 12 hours. "I tried to be down with the kids and it just creeped me out," she said.
"I didn't post anything, and I was under a false name and I think because Chloë [Grace Moretz] followed me, suddenly all these people started following me and posting, 'I'm having a cup of tea now,' and I just got completely freaked out."
5 Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock is notoriously private, which means she doesn't have time for social media. Fifty-seven-year-old Bullock says that the main reason behind her frustration at social media is that the images are unrealistic.
"We're not representing our lives truthfully," Bullock told U.K.'s The Times. "Like when you're yelling at your child, you're not taking a selfie of you being a horrible parent."
"No, you're waiting for the perfect selfie," she continued. "'Do I look thinner now?' 'Do I look great?' It's this false projection of one's life. Hollywood has now gone global. Everyone's Hollywood now."
4 Lorde
The "Royals" singer opened up to Interview magazine about stepping back from social media in 2018.
"Part of what made me peace out on social media, apart from feeling like I was losing my free will, was the massive amounts of stress I was feeling about our planet, about systemic racism, and about police brutality in this country," the New Zealand born singer revealed.
In a later interview with The Late Late Show, the "Green Light" singer said that she felt like her “brain wasn’t working very well any more”.
“The experience of reading about the world, over time, I sort of … I felt like I didn’t have time to decide how I felt about anything. I just would be like, ‘What does everyone else think?’” she said on the chat show. Although her account became active to urge Americans to vote and to promote her recent album, she does not update it with personal content.
3 Meghan Markle
Following her engagement to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle closed all of her social media accounts. In addition to her Instagram and Twitter accounts, which jointly had nearly 2.5 million followers, the former actress also closed down her lifestyle website, The Tig.
In April 2019, Meghan and Harry launched a joint Instagram account, @sussexroyal, which they use to highlight charities, official work and make statements. It has not been updated since they stepped down from their working royal duties in March 2020.
2 Kelly Marie Tran
Kelly Marie Tran was faced with online backlash when fans decided they didn't like her Star Wars: The Last Jedi character, Rose. The actress was faced with hateful and racially fueled messages which caused her to delete her social media. Kelly Marie Tran told Entertainment Tonight that doesn’t regret her decision at all, even if it lost her work and fans.
"I mean, I think that, you know, it's a different decision for everyone. And I think that people should do what they think is right for them. I also think that ... it was the best thing I ever did. I don't know. It's funny, it feels like people are still shocked by it sometimes. I'm like, no ... I just did what was best for me."
Her co-star Daisy Ridley also had a social media blackout, and she only recently came back after six years.
1 Emma Stone
Back in 2013, Oscar-winning actress, Emma Stone's Twitter was hacked and a cryptic message was posted about her then-boyfriend and another woman. After this awkward incident, the Easy A star deleted her account and hasn't returned since.
Speaking to ELLE U.S. the La La Land actress revealed that social media "wouldn't be a positive thing" for her, adding, "If people can handle that sort of output and input in the social media sphere, more power to them."
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