RHOBH's Yolanda Hadid Opens Up About Negative Impact Of Social Media
It's not a shock that Yolanda Hadid might have a conflicted relationship with social media. The last time the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum took an Instagram hiatus, she wasn't welcomed back with the warmest reception. Disappearing from the platform for nine months in 2021, Hadid returned in July 2022, posting a photo of her meditating and listing a litany of reasons for her detox. "After the loss of my mother i really struggled with depression followed by a Lyme relapse," Hadid wrote at the time, adding that it negatively impacted her immune system. "My phone addiction didn't help either," she continued, citing that the reduced screen time "has been a wonderful reset, time to break the habit of picking up my phone 50 times a day."
Fans were skeptical of Yolanda's supposed reasoning for her Instagram absence. In late October 2021 — just weeks after her last pre-detox post — Yolanda claimed daughter Gigi Hadid's baby daddy, Zayn Malik, physically struck her during an argument. Malik vehemently denied all allegations of assault, but as he tweeted, he chose to not publicly contest the claims "in an effort to protect that space for [Malik and Gigi's daughter, Khai]." Yolanda then going Insta-silent for nine months made followers suspect her of intentionally avoiding the backlash. As one fan wrote on her return post, "We didn't forget lmao."
Well, Yolanda has returned with further musings about the negative impact of social media, offering more thoughts on her screen addiction.
Yolanda Hadid labels Instagram 'crack cocaine for the brain'
Posting a photo dump full of family, friends, and horses, Yolanda Hadid launched into another lengthy diatribe on the harm of too much Instagramming. "After my 10 month social media detox i am trying to figure out a healthy way of connecting with my online community without making it a daily thing," the retired model began, offering an explanation for her packed photo carousel. "Maybe it's the escape of the everyday struggles we all face but it also makes you disassociate from real life connections, missing out on real time conversations and blessings," she continued. Likening social scrolling to "crack cocaine for the brain," the mother of three worried about the "sensory overload of the nervous system" and constant self-comparisons.
Given that Yolanda is mom to supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid (as well as their brother, model and actor Anwar Hadid), her photo dump served some rare and intriguing family shots. One such shot features Anwar chilling on the couch with Yolanda's boyfriend of four years, Joseph Jingoli, while another shows her holding Gigi's daughter, Khai, next to a horseback Bella in an equestrian ring.
While we have a feeling Yolanda will never stay off Instagram for too long, her sentiments place her in good company alongside celebrities like Selena Gomez. Gomez, who has long voiced her own love-hate relationship with social media, recently announced she's taking a break from all platforms, including deactivating (and promptly reactivating) her TikTok account.