Former Dundee United star Ryan Gauld has revealed he deleted Twitter from his phone due to the social media backlash to a double penalty miss.
The Vancouver Whitecaps captain failed to convert either spot-kick in a crucial MLS showdown with Los Angeles FC in October.
Despite being the Canadian side’s talisman – Gauld has notched 26 goals and 29 assists in 94 games for the club – that did not protect him from the slings and arrows of online fury.
And Gauld concedes that negative messages leave a more lasting impact than positive ones, leading to him take a break from doomscrolling.
“I could probably rattle off 10 negative messages I have received in the last two or three weeks – and could only tell you one or two of the positive ones,” he said. “It’s proof that you remember the negative ones more than the positives!
“A couple of weeks ago, I missed two penalties in a game, which is something that isn’t very common.
“There were a lot of messages that came from that. After reading some of those, you forget all the positive messages before that.
“That’s when I took the decision to delete the app from my phone and say I’m going to take some time away from it.”
Hurtful
Gauld was speaking to the Mind of an Athlete Podcast and was candid regarding the challenges of being a high-profile figure in the age of social media.
“It (social media) obviously has its positives, but I’m not a huge fan of it,” he continued.
“On one hand, it’s nice that everyone has that platform to speak their mind. But when people use that the wrong way, it can be hurtful. It can be tough for a lot of people to deal with.
“Not just football players – any sort of sportsperson or celebrities that are in the spotlight. They can be reached via messages at any time of the day, which can be a downside of it, in my view.”
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