Selena Gomez’s Time nod as first person to reach 100M Instagram followers criticized

Time magazine selected 46 women for its project about “Firsts” which highlights women’s accomplishments in changing the world.

In the list is pop singer and actress Selena Gomez, whose inclusion has been quite contentious.

Sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to wake up every day knowing there is so much going on in the world. At times I feel selfish, I ask why, I ask how can this change? Will it actually ever change? I try to contribute my heart before anything because it can be so easy to lose the desire to have hope when sometimes all I want to be is angry. When I read about the beautiful women who wake up consciously every day to make a change, it inspires me to want to do so much more. Not really sure how I got so lucky @time but thank you for highlighting the power of what we can and will always strive to be. I believe in the goodness in the land of the living. I hope this is just the beginning of more change.

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Sep 7, 2017 at 11:15am PDT

The choice to put her in the feature isn’t about her per se. It’s why: her feat is being the first person to attain 100 million Instagram followers.

Some online comments have questioned the decision to consider her “achievement” as one comparable to other featured women, which includes presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey.

FAM, @TIME magazine really got @selenagomez mentioned next to LEGENDS all b/c she got 100M IG followers?! Jesus Christ. pic.twitter.com/OtQlMJF9iW

— The Unorthodox Duck (@GeauxGabby) September 8, 2017

“We live in a world where TIME MAGAZINE thinks Selena Gomez and Oprah have made the same level of contributions to the world,” commented a Twitter user.

We live in a world where TIME MAGAZINE thinks Selena Gomez and Oprah have made the same level of contributions to the world. pic.twitter.com/zRL5Ydju3G

— Sisa (@titanbaddie) September 7, 2017

Gomez has held the title as most followed individual on Instagram for some time, and now counts 126 million followers as of writing.

The “Fetish” singer started out as a child star and earned fame as a Disney actress. She has since been pursuing her pop music career.

In her interview with the magazine, Gomez is labelled as “The Tastemaker” and has some qualms about the very platform that has helped her connect with fans.

“I think it’s really hard to be a kid now, especially with social media… It’s already difficult to get up every day and just feel good about yourself without seeing the highlights of everyone else’s life,” she shared.

Her candidness and vulnerability have earned her a strong following. “I like that they’ve seen my mistakes. I try to use that as a way to connect with them… Strength is vulnerability,” she said.

She also shared the magazine cover on her Instagram and reflected on how to create change: “There is so much going on in the world.”

“I try to contribute my heart before anything because it can be so easy to lose the desire to have hope when sometimes all I want to be is angry,” she mused. “I believe in the goodness in the land of the living. I hope this is just the beginning of more change.” Niña V. Guno/JB

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