Shocking celebrity social media breaks you didn't see coming

Taking breaks at the right time holds great significance but is often overlooked by many.

It helps keep your mental health stable, especially at times where social media becomes overstimulating and negative.

Taking a brief hiatus from social media can be very beneficial for one's mental health, productivity, and overall well-being. 

It can reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and foster more meaningful real-life interactions. 

According to Help Guide, fear of missing out (FOMO) can keep you returning to social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram over and over again throughout the day. 

The constant alerts and notifications can adversely impact your concentration and focus, disturb your sleep, and make you feel obliged to keep checking your phone.

Here's a list of your favourite celebrities who took breaks from their social media accounts:

Billie Eilish

The 23-year-old pop sensation has long been an advocate for prioritising mental health and taking breaks when needed.

In March 2023, Billie revealed on Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend: Musician Series that she no longer “looks at” social media .

She shared how social media took a major toll on her well-being during her teenage years.

"I've deleted it all off my phone, which is such a huge deal for me,” the Bad Guy hitmaker added.

Billie further explained,” Being a teenager on the internet, those were my people. I was one of those people on the internet. ... Slowly the videos that I'm watching and the things that I'm seeing on the internet are about me. I'm like, 'Ew! Stinky! I don't like that.'"

Selena Gomez

The 33-year-old music sensation has taken multiple breaks from social media, but the most notable was in September 2018, when her former longtime boyfriend, Justin Bieber, tied the knot with Hailey Bieber, per Us Weekly.

Selena took to her Instagram handle to emphasise the importance of stepping away.

"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,” the Rare songstress wrote in the caption.

She added, “Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings.”

Another time Selena took a break was in February 2023 after responding to speculation about her alleged feud with Hailey.

"I'm very happy. I'm so blessed. I have the best friends, the best fans in the whole world and I just couldn't be happier," the Only Murders in the Building actress said in a live TikTok video.

"I'm good. I love who I am, I don't care. I'm big, I'm not, I don't care. I love who I am. ... I'm gonna be taking a second from social media because this is a little silly,” Selena concluded.

Gigi Hadid

The 30-year-old supermodel took a break from X in November 2022, shortly after Elon Musk acquired the social media platform, per Us Weekly.

“For a long time, but especially with [Twitter's] new leadership, it’s becoming more and more of a cesspool of hate & bigotry, and its not a place I want to be a part of," Gigi shared. (sic)

She added,” I can’t stay it’s a safe place for anyone, nor a social platform that will do more good than harm.”

The Vogue model has been a strong advocate for stepping away from social media.

Back in 2016, she spoke to People about the importance of breaks, per Teen Vogue.

“It’s not only for people in the spotlight, it’s for everyone,” Gigi said, adding, “At the end of the day, I’m choosing what I’m showing you. A lot of the world feels so much entitlement in other people’s lives, which is so crazy and so new for human beings. We never had that.”

Tom Holland

The Spider-Man star shared his honest thoughts in August 2022 on the importance of protecting mental health, according to Us Weekly.

“I have taken a break from social media for my mental health because I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, to be overwhelming," Tom said after more than a month without posting.

He added, “I get caught up and I spiral when I read things about me online, and ultimately, it's very detrimental to my mental state. So I decided to take a step back and delete the app."

Charli XCX

The Apple hitmaker announced that she was taking a break from social media to prioritise her mental health in February 2022, due to severe backlash surrounding her upcoming album, Crash, as reported by Billboard.

"I have been feeling like I can’t do anything right at the moment," Charli addressed her fans via X.

She further explained, "I’ve been grappling quite a lot with my mental health the past few months and obviously it makes negativity and criticism harder to handle when I come across it — and of course, I know this is a common struggle for most people in this day and age.”

Camila Cabello

The Havana songstress announced in December 2021 that she planned to take a break from social media after Christmas, according to Us Weekly.

“Going on a lil social media detox till the new year!!!!" Camila wrote via her Instagram Story the day after Christmas, adding, "Just wanna spend a little less time on my phone this week x love y'all."

Lorde

Last but not least, the 28-year-old singer is known for rarely using social media.

"I got rid of Twitter, I got rid of Instagram, I blocked YouTube, that was a big one," Lorde told James Corden in August 2021, adding, "But now my social network is the New York Times cooking app. That's become a source of community for me."

Later, in Vogue’s October 2021 cover story, she delved deeper into her decision to step away, acknowledging how unusual it was for an artist.

“I think I was known for having my finger on the pulse, so it was actually a huge decision philosophically for me to step back from that. But I started to see the phone as a portal,” the Ribs songstress explained.

She added, “I can’t keep going through that portal, in the same way that I wouldn’t just take mushrooms all these moments of a day. It’s too deep a tunnel.”

“I could sense that it would be very bad for the work and for me if I stayed online. I don’t think I’ve met too many people for whom social media is a net positive. It’s producing crazy chemicals, forming crazy neural pathways that are not rooted in positivity. … But I think we’ve got to be upfront about the things that are making us sick as a society,” Lorde shared.