Lorde thinks the internet can be a poisonous place.
The 28-year-old singer made a conscious decision to distance herself from the online discourse around 2021, when she released her Solar Power album - but Lorde admits she's now "plugged in" to internet culture again.
Asked about her relationship with the platform, Lorde told Dazed: "I’m plugged in and I like it, although I also know it’s poison.
"Still, I realise that to be a good artist in 2025 – or to make pop culture – you have to be in the soup, to know what the forces are. I was so literate at it as a young person, but around Solar Power I truly didn’t log on for years. I didn’t understand anything anyone was talking about. Now it feels fun again."
Lorde released her latest album, Virgin, in June, and she's enjoyed the experience of reconnecting with her fans.
Despite this, the chart-topping star confessed to feeling anxious before joining TikTok.
She said: "A big part of releasing Virgin the way I have has been asking: what would be fun? What would interest me as someone who sees everything and knows there are ways of doing things? Learning how I want to communicate in that medium, in 2025, has been a really fun challenge.
"This album is about vulnerability and rebirth, and there’s an inherent vulnerability joining TikTok. I don’t know what the f*** I’m doing. I’ll probably get it wrong."
Lorde is actually thankful that she isn't more famous than she already is.
The singer likened her life to running a "boutique operation".
She explained: "I’m lucky. I seem to be able to cruise around pretty well. It’s amazing.
"I’ve had this understanding since I was 18 – that the trade wouldn’t be worth it, to ascend to the degree people do. The security component of it. I really had a sense that I would leave things on the table to avoid building a life that trapped me – something I couldn’t handle.
"I feel like I’ve had the perfect life for me; I get to do my work, and it stretches me to the peak of my abilities. I find it both awesome and challenging. But I still feel like I run a boutique operation. It’s just a handful of us."
