21-year-old model and reality television star, Kendall Jenner and her famous family are considered by many as America's 'royal family'. It appears though that the price of fame has come to be too much for Jenner after she removed herself from social media last month. The decision took fans by surprise and they instantly reacted to the 'news' on Twitter in their droves.
Jenner, who deleted her Instagram and Twitter accounts on 13th November, appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show three days later to share and defend her decision with the US talk show host.
"I don't know, I just wanted a detox," she told DeGeneres. "I just wanted a little bit of a break. I'm always on it. I feel like I would wake up in the morning and I would look at it first thing. I would go to bed and it was the last thing I would look at. I felt a little dependent on it. It's a detox."
The model's 68 million Instagram followers are not the only ones who have been left disappointed when celebrities have quit their social media channels. Plenty of others have been there before, including Jenner's older sister Kim Kardashian.
Arguably the most famous of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Kim made headlines after taking a step away from social media. This decision came after she was reportedly bound, gagged and held at gunpoint during a home invasion when the star way staying in Paris in October.
Thieves stole jewellery from Kardashian that were valued at approximately $10 million. It has been suggested they were stolen due to her flashy social media presence, thus prompting her decision to quit.
The Kardashian and Jenner family, who seemingly thrive off of social media and appearing in the limelight, contacted Kendall immediately with links to stories as her decision became global news.
The sisters' brother, Rob Kardashian has also been one to shy away from the spotlight. The reclusive member of the family rarely used social media in the past due to personal health problems, and the criticism he faced as a result of those issues. 2016 saw him make a return to social media after entering a new relationship with his current partner, Blac Chyna.
Pop icon, Justin Bieber is another example of a high-profile social media detox. As his romance with Sofie Richie stepped up in August this year, so did the online comments the star received. Many fans flocked to Instagram to leave nasty messages about the younger sister of Nicole Richie.
Bieber's ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, added a comment of her own remarking he should stop posting pictures of his new love if he "can't handle the hate". Shortly after fans found Bieber's account had been deactivated but it appeared he had a change of heart, as his Instagram account was restored within the same month and he made a return as an online presence.
The number of celebrities detoxing from social media has increased in recent months and is a trend that looks set to continue. It is often backlash online, whether it be career or personal decisions, that prompts them to make the cut and step away from the public eye for even the shortest of times.
Social media star Zoe Sugg, best known by her YouTube alias 'Zoella', serves as a prime example of a celebrity who shunned social media. The 26-year-old released her first teen novel 'Girl Online' in 2014 and news broke shortly after that Sugg had used a ghost writer.
After a hurl of abusive comments criticising her for not fully writing the novel herself, Sugg stepped away from social media to give herself a break but returned just days later.
Those who quit do gradually make an online appearance again but it leaves one question to linger. Should individuals in the public eye accept the lack of privacy as part of the job? Or should they attempt to shield themselves from the glaring intrusion of the press and social media 'trolls'?
Kendall Jenner promised her legion of fans that she would make a return to social media eventually and it's a promise she delivered on. "I'll be back, I'll come back," she told Ellen, although her social media detox becoming news took the model by surprise at the time.
"It's so crazy to me that it even became huge news like that. I mean I guess I didn't expect it but I also took Twitter off my phone.
"I didn't delete my Twitter entirely but I took the app off my phone so I had no idea anyone was even talking about it and I honestly didn't think anybody would care."
Words Lauren Wade
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