Selena Gomez: People would think dating me is 'dumb'

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Selena Gomez is opening up about the challenges of dating in the spotlight.

The 24-year-old singer and actress revealed in the September issue of Vogue Australia that she only dates within her circle of friends because she believes outsiders would find dating her too overwhelming.

"I think people would think it's kind of dumb [to date me]," Gomez said. "Nobody would want to throw themselves into that situation where it was so heightened publicly, like, why would they?"

"The guys that do have the confidence to hit on me are not necessarily my type," she shared. "I'd be so stoked with a writer or producer or actor who is low-key, but those kind of guys are terrified of me!"

Gomez's love life is also complicated by ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. She and the 22-year-old singer split in 2014 after years of on-again, off-again dating, but the public remains firmly fixated on the pair's relationship.

"For a while my private life was the most talked about thing," the star acknowledged. "You want to do what you love but all this other stuff overshadows it so it makes it a little harder for people to take me seriously."

Gomez previously vented about interest in Bieber in the June issue of Marie Claire. The singer admitted her career often goes overlooked due to the public's absorption with the relationship.

"I would try to promote something that I loved, and the entire interview would be about my personal life," she revealed. "I would leave a room feeling defeated, feeling embarrassed, but I would always make sure to put that smile on my face because I wasn't going to let them get to me."

Gomez last released Revival in October and will conclude her accompanying tour Dec. 18 in Guadalajara, Mexico. She will next appear in James Franco's movie adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel In Dubious Battle.