Selena Gomez thinks social media has given her ''more control'' over her image.

The 23-year-old star, who shared a photograph of herself in a swimsuit on Instagram, with the caption ''there's more to love,'' after being criticised for gaining weight earlier this year, says ''those posts are very intentional.''

She explained: ''I don't want them [the critics] to win. It's not fair for them to try to control my life. Yeah, I'm insecure sometimes, but so is everybody. Yeah, I made mistakes, but so does everybody. I get a little upset - not upset, but just passionate - about that. I want to be heard, and I don't want people to see those comments and think they can bring people down, because it's not right.''

But the 'Good For You' hitmaker insists she doesn't take herself too seriously.

She said: ''I know I post pictures when I feel good or look good in an outfit, but in reality, I'm not going to be posing like that as I'm walking down the street, and you can Google horrible pictures of me. You can find them everywhere. I don't care. Social media is a place to have fun and put your perspective online.''

Meanwhile, Selena admits she used to be very self-conscious about her vocal ability.

She told the November issue of Flare magazine: ''I'm not the best singer - like, I know I'm not Céline Dion. Ever since I was 16, I've had this lower register, what I thought was a very manly voice, and I was insecure about that. But once I started acting more, I realised it was an asset, and I didn't want to force myself to aim for the highest note possible. My strength is translating emotion, because I'm such a feeler.''