Shawn Mendes Spoke Out About Taking A Social Media Break

Social media can be a toxic place for just about anyone, but it’s especially hard for celebrities who already live life under a microscope. Everything they do is magnified or criticized, and Shawn Mendes will be the first to admit it can be taxing, mentally. In fact, he’s taking a break from posting altogether.

Mendes released a new song, “It’ll Be Okay,” on Dec. 1, and fans immediately speculated it was about his split from Camila Cabello. And while Mendes didn’t confirm that info, he did hop on Instagram to explain why he’s been absent recently.

“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been connecting with ‘It’ll be Okay’ and posting videos,” he began. “I’m a having a little bit of a hard time with social media at the moment and just kind of my relationship with it. But I have lots of people sending me videos and kind of telling me what’s going on.”

Mendes went on to add that music has been an outlet for his emotions lately, despite not posting online. “I think that when I make music, the ultimate goal is to kind of be sitting there and have my own truth revealed to me,” he said. “A lot of the time when I’m writing songs, I’m using music as a platform to be able to get to a place inside myself that I wouldn’t be able to get to by just talking to people or thinking about it.”

Mendes and Cabello called it quits on Nov. 17 and released a joint statement about their decision to part ways.

The statement read: "Hey guys, we've decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever. We started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends."

Two weeks later, Mendes released “It’ll Be Okay,” which was unmistakably interpreted by fans as a breakup bop.

Fans are (understandably) still reeling from Mendes’ and Cabello’s sudden split, but you can’t blame him for taking some time away from social media and taking care of himself while the dust settles.