Luisa Dörr for TIMESelena Gomez was the first person to reach 100 million followers on Instagram, and that achievement has landed her on the cover of Time magazine.
Actually, Selena graces one of the magazine’s 12 different covers, which highlight its FIRSTS project. The project profiles 46 women who are “changing the world.” Selena is included on the list as “The Tastemaker.”
In the accompanying article, Selena says that despite her own success on Instagram, she feels that social media is just making growing up that much more difficult.
“I am glad I grew up in the time that I did. I think it’s really hard to be a kid now, especially with social media. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up with that,” she explains. “It’s already difficult to get up every day and just feel good about yourself without seeing the highlights of everyone else’s life.”
That’s why, she explains, she likes to expose her vulnerabilities on social media.
“I like that they’ve seen my mistakes. I try to use that as a way to connect with them,” says Selena. “That’s all I can do. I hope that they know that strength doesn’t mean that you have to put on a facade. Strength is being vulnerable.”
On her Instagram, Selena writes about the FIRSTS project, “@Time, 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.”
Other notable women on the list include Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Issa Rae, Aretha Franklin, Shonda Rhimes, Barbara Walters and Nancy Pelosi.
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