John Legend Says Limiting Social Media Is ‘Truly Better for My Mental Health’ After It Became ‘Too Toxic’

“I just found it better for my mental health to stay away,” the singer said

John Legend. PHOTO: DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY

John Legend is taking a step back from social media.

The 44-year-old singer recently opened up about staying offline in order to preserve his mental health.

“I used to be on social media a lot more than I am now. I generally post more on Instagram and some on TikTok, but I kind of stopped posting on Twitter,” he told Yahoo Life, noting that the platform — now called X — has become “a little too toxic.”

“After a while, having that much transparency between you and your audience — not just coming from you, but also coming to you — all the incoming [discourse], it was just a lot,” he explained. “After a while, I was just like, ‘You know, I don’t need that.’ And it’s truly better for my mental health. I just found it better for my mental health to stay away.”

Legend, who’s known for being laid back, admitted that there’s not much that stresses him out, calling himself “pretty unflappable.”

“It’s not because I’m some master meditator or something like that,” he added. “I’m built this way. I’ve been like this my whole life and I’m probably more calm now just with experience.”

John Legend.JO HALE/REDFERNS

Legend recently spoke to PEOPLE about the progress he’s made in his mental health journey, sharing that being vulnerable on his latest tour, “An Evening with John Legend,” has been “really therapeutic” for him.

“Everybody can use therapy and talking things out,” he said. “It’s been good for me being on my solo tour this year, because I talk about my youth, my family and my upbringing, and all the ups and downs I had.”

“I think exploring that and talking about that has been really therapeutic for me,” the EGOT winner continued. “And I think it’s important for everybody to kind of deal with those things in their past and talk about those things, whether it’s to a therapist or to your loved one. That’s really important for your mental health.”