This is why Selena Gomez has been off the internet for the past 4.5 years

Selena Gomez has spoken about her mental health at length in many of her interviews, but she revealed something quite major this week.

Gomez opened up on Monday’s episode of Good Morning America. She appeared on the ABC show with her mother, Mandy Teefey, and business partner Daniella Pierson to discuss their new mental health multimedia company, Wondermind, aimed at providing people struggling with mental health problems with free resources.

“Growing up in the spotlight has definitely taught me so much,” she said. “I can’t believe that I’m where I am mentally just because how I took the necessary steps in order to kind of remove myself from that because it’s just not normal.”

One of those “necessary steps” was logging off. The singer-actor shared that she hasn’t been on the internet for four and a half years to protect her well-being and that her team runs her social media accounts.

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“One of the other things you’ve talked about in the past is taking a scrolling break,” GMA host Robin Roberts said. “You literally stepped away from Instagram.”

“I haven’t been on the internet four and a half years,” the star, who has 310 million followers on Instagram alone, said.

When asked how that’s helped her detox, Selena said the decision changed her life completely: “I am happier. I am more present. I connect more with people. It makes me feel normal.”

For years, Gomez has been quite public about her health struggles — both mental and physical. She shared her lupus and bipolar disorder diagnoses with her fans. In October last year, she told fashion media outlet WWD that a significant part of improving her mental health was simply disconnecting.

“I’m completely unaware of actually what’s going on in pop culture, and that makes me really happy,” she said. “And maybe that doesn’t make everybody else happy, but for me, it’s really saved my life.”

So whether you’re a Selenator or a hater, just remember the star won’t actually be reading the comments you leave on her social media posts.