Dua Lipa says "online criticism" made her even more "nervous" about releasing her second album.
The 24-year-old pop star – who released ‘Future Nostalgia earlier this week – has opened up about why she had to quit social media to protect her mental health and how negative comments prevented her from "being proud" of her "achievements".
Speaking in an interview with Britain’s The Sunday Times newspaper, she spilled: "Online criticism can make you feel like you’re not good enough, so I was nervous.
"It felt like a breeding ground for hate and stopped me being proud of my achievements.
"Instead of feeling something was amazing, it made me feel I wasn’t worth it."
The Grammy-winner admitted it’s "a massive shame" she is no longer on social media and has called on the owners of apps like Twitter and Instagram to make them a "safer space".
She said: "It’s a massive shame.
"But we have to protect our mental health. I wish social media companies could make it a safer space. It’s just become unkind."
The ‘Hallucinate’ singer also admitted that perhaps it would be best for her fans to come off social media.
She added: "Maybe [they should] take a step back from social media themselves.
"Even when it wasn’t at the height of negativity, my advice to fans feeling anxiety was to take a step back. I guess I had to take that on myself a little bit."
Dua previously admitted that social media made her break-up worse.
The ‘New Rules’ hitmaker split from model Isaac Carew in 2017 after two years of dating, before briefly rekindling their romance, and going their separate ways for good in summer 2019.
And the ‘Physical’ singer – who is now in a relationship with model Anwar Hadid – admitted their initial break-up was made even more difficult because of her fame and hateful comments online.
She said: "For example, dealing with a break up is hard enough, but dealing with it in the public eye is probably even harder.
"But also when people have no idea what’s going on and they message you and all you can think of is that they have no clue. But what can you do?"
Dua Lipa says ‘online criticism’ made her ‘nervous’ about her album release
