We are just a few months into 2023, and with a new year always comes new gossip. Fans of Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber are forcing media consumers to pick a side in a conflict that was handmade.

Socialites Bieber and Kylie Jenner are against pop singer Gomez and have been driving the internet crazy with their latest feud. But are their personal lives significant enough for people to fight against each other and comment about it on the internet?

Everything started in January when Bieber shared a video with Jenner on TikTok mouthing, “I’m not saying she deserved it, but God’s timing is always right,” at the same time as Gomez was being body shamed by the press. Many fans thought Bieber and Jenner were targeting Gomez and there were so many comments against the socialites that Bieber deleted the video. 

In February, Gomez shared a video about accidentally over-laminating her eyebrows. Shortly after, Jenner posted an Instagram story of her eyebrows with the caption “This was an accident.” The rumor around the internet quickly spread, and people thought Jenner was throwing shade at Gomez because she had just passed Jenner as the most followed woman on Instagram. 

Bieber entered the chat after being tagged on a FaceTime screenshot that Jenner posted hours after her other story. Both of the women were showing their eyebrows. Coincidence? According to Gomez’s fans and Bieber’s haters, no.

Social media users who have nothing to do with this conflict have been forced to declare themselves Team Hailey or Team Selena. This shows how celebrity drama is one of the reasons why people are more immersed every day in the virtual world. But is caring about other people’s businesses beneficial to our lives? 

We all know becoming a public figure is the same as signing a paper saying goodbye to your privacy in most circumstances. However, celebrities are still human beings at the end of the day, and I am not saying we shouldn’t buy their products or stop following them, but sometimes, an alleged feud like this one shouldn’t escalate so fast. 

People on TikTok have been posting videos about this rivalry nonstop. Even though Jenner and Gomez were commenting and saying nothing had happened between the three of them, fans agreed that something seemed off.

According to some social media users, Bieber never liked Gomez despite their casual and friendly public interactions. This drama had immense repercussions and multiple TikTok accounts started digging up old videos of Bieber acting like a mean girl to expose her. 

When someone posted an old tape of Bieber gagging at the mention of Taylor Swift’s name, Gomez commented on the video. 

“So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game,” wrote Gomez. The singer also constantly commented “I love you” on videos of people supporting her.

Evidently, this mess was affecting Gomez emotionally, at which point she made a live video saying she was stepping away from social media. This move only proves that people aren’t talking and hating on puppets — they are real people. 

The feud supposedly continued after Bieber published an Instagram story with Gomez’s song “Calm Down,” but are they fighting for real or has the internet just blown this out of proportion? 

Celebrity dramas have been alienating the internet nowadays, especially with the creation of TikTok, where everyone can publish their opinions and expose anyone worldwide. Social media is proven to be a toxic environment and some seem to lose their sense of reason. Is it worth picking a fight that is not yours and invading the little privacy celebrities have? 

No matter if you are #TeamSelena, #TeamHailey or just the average social media consumer. This drama had to do more with the fans than the celebrities, which is why it grew so quickly. 

The time people spend bringing those feuds to the spotlight is massive and there isn’t an answer for why they do that. Maybe it is just a form of escapism, focusing on others’ lives instead of your own. 

That type of behavior leaves me questioning if it is worth wasting a considerable amount of time following those types of dramas. Couldn’t we be doing something productive for ourselves? I guess it is time to rethink how we spend our time online.

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