Madison Beer: Popstar on the downsides of social media fame

Madison recently played her first UK festival set at Reading and Leeds to packed audiences at the Radio 1 Dance Stage

Being a popstar nowadays comes with a lot of pressure. As well as recording albums and performing around the world, musicians have to deal with having a huge presence on social media.

American singer Madison Beer is no exception.

The 23-year-old has just over 32 million followers on Instagram and almost 18 million followers on TikTok.

And while social media is one of the reasons Madison found fame, the popstar tells Radio 1 Newsbeat she'd consider taking a break from the apps.

'Prioritise real life'

"Over the years my relationship with it has changed a lot. I just try to prioritise real life, my relationships and who I am in real life," she says, adding that she "spends a lot less time" on social media now.

"I use it, and I'm active on it, but I try not to let it dictate my life anymore.

"I just put a lot more of my focus into my music, who I am and what I stand for."

The singer shot to fame when Justin Bieber tweeted a video of a 13-year-old Madison covering Etta James' At Last.

But Madison says she found viral fame and the negative sides of social media tougher to deal with when she was a teenager.

"It was really, really hard for me when I was younger, and I didn't have such a strong sense of self," she says.

"People really dictated who I was, and obviously, that impacted me a lot - so it was hard."

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Asked if she'd take some time away from social media, Madison tells Newsbeat: "I do I think that is in the potential near future.

"I've definitely developed like a healthy relationship [with social media] and I've been able to use it when I want to, but also be off it when I feel like I need to be."

The Reckless singer wouldn't be the first big name to take time away from socials.

The likes of Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez, Kanye West and Taylor Swift have all disappeared from social media for a while.

Madison says she's "proud" of where she is now

In 2020, Madison opened up about being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

According to the NHS, BPD is a disorder of mood and how a person interacts with others.

Madison - whose new single Dangerous was released this week - says it was "intimidating" to share her diagnosis at first, but that she's now "grateful" that she spoke up.

"I was really afraid to open up, because in the past anytime I've opened up to like social media or the public, it's always been made fun of," she says.

"But now it's become such a part of who I am, that I'm really grateful I pushed myself to open up in that way.

"I think that I have a story that's worthy of being told, and I have a lot of growth that I would love to share."

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