Selena Gomez Says She ‘Can’t Stand’ Social Media, Worries Kids ‘Don’t Care’
Selena Gomez's hiatus from life with a cellphone has given her some blinding perspective — she said during a press event for Netflix's 13 Reasons Why yesterday (February 8) that she's pushing for kids to detach from social media and engage in what's really going on around them.
Gomez, who's an executive producer on the streaming project, said that she could relate to the film's themes, which include depression, bullying and suicide. And that production began just as she was entering rehab for treatment in October 2016 seemed like fate.
"I was actually going through a really difficult time when they started production," she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I went away for 90 days, and I actually met tons of kids in this place that we're talking about a lot of the issues that these characters are experiencing."
Gomez added that she's discouraged by the ubiquity of toxic Twitter behavior, and that she hopes 13 Reasons Why can serve as a cautionary tale against reliance on digital reality.
"It's hard right now. I can't stand social media," she said. "I can't stand what they're looking at. I can't stand what they think is reality, and [this] show is real as it could possibly get."
"Unfortunately, kids don't care. They don't care," she added. "They have to see something that's going to scare them. They need to see something that's frightening...I want them to understand it. I would do anything to be able to have a good influence on this generation, but I definitely relate to everything that was going on. I was there for the last episode, and I was a mess just seeing it all come to life, because I've experienced that."
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