Scotland starlet Ben Doak has revealed he has enforced his own personal social media blackout.
The Liverpool winger - on loan at Middlesbrough - refuses to be drawn into the noise of social media after his meteoric rise while still within his teenage years.
The 18-year-old has only made 17 professional appearances in his fledgling career, with two caps for Scotland on top, but has quickly learned tough lessons over the perils of social media.
Celtic academy graduate Doak has his head screwed on, he is not arrogant and certainly not easily affected or influenced by those outwith his close circle.
However, it would have been understandable should some major praise from the likes of Jurgen Klopp or Steve Clarke have inflated his ego and that's before any fan input on the matter.
Doak, though, has a strong mindset and has quickly learned there is no room for complacency or any point in getting worked up over sensationalist or scathing remarks on social media.
"Yeah, you can," Doak said of how easy it can be for young players to get carried away quickly. "I think when I first started playing games for Liverpool, coming off the bench and when I made my first start, it's easy to fall into that and looking at social media and getting a bit too carried away.
"The first time I realised it anyway was one game I wasn't great, I wasn't good, I wasn't bad. The first thing you do, you go straight onto social media and you see everyone caning you.
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"I think that was when I realised that these people aren't your mates. They'll big you up and then they'll hit you down just as hard. I just don't look.
"It's the easiest thing to do, really, because it keeps you level-headed and you really know where you're at when you don't look at that."
Doak has now called it quits on social media regarding his own performances intent on instead focussing purely on coaching guidance for club and country.
"I think it's just easier, to be honest," he said. "It gets exhausting reading all the good and the bad.
"What's the point? The people that know what they're talking about are in the building with me. If I want to hear any feedback, I'll go to them, I won't go to social media."
Doak has played five times this season for loan club Middlesbrough and is hopeful of his first full season in a first-team environment as a regular contributor.
But the winger is confident he is not playing catch up with other teenagers who may have far greater appearance numbers - albeit in a less competitive environment.
"Obviously, you've got other 18-year-old lads that are playing every week, but everyone's got their own journey," he said on his hopes of a consistent run of games this season. "My games are starting now.
"Some lads have been playing for two years already. Some lads might start playing next year, like other lads my age. But everyone's got their own journey, and mine's just starting now.
"It's good to be starting games.
"I don't put too much pressure on myself. I just feel like if I get into a team and play them regularly at a decent level, as long as I'm going out there and enjoying it, the rewards will come on their own."
