As the most followed woman on Instagram with a staggering 429 million followers, Selena Gomez has never been much concerned with social media success.

“I’ve never really cared about that stuff,” Gomez said at Universal Music Group and Thrive Global’s Music & Health Conference on Tuesday afternoon. “I suppose I’m grateful for the platform, and I would love to continue to use it for what I’m able to do, but numbers are just numbers.”

Rather, she’s well aware of the responsibility that comes with such a far-reaching platform. In her position, Gomez has heard from several fans about how her work has helped them through extremely difficult times. “It can be a little heavy,” she continued. “I feel for people, and I think that’s what kind of keeps me in check, to be honest. I think I can be a little reckless with my emotions and having conversations with young people,...