Mikey Breen says he doesn’t check for negativity about himself on social media and he doesn’t let it consume him either.
The Tipperary hurler is a well-known profile in the public eye thanks to his talents on the GAA pitch, as well as his relationship with Olympic sprinter Sharlene Mawdsley .
But Mikey says while it’s important to stay in the loop with goings on in the world via social media, he wouldn’t “particularly” be a fan of it.
He told RSVP Magazine: “I wouldn’t overly use it, but I am on it and I pay attention to it.
“Most of the news you’re going to hear now comes from social media.
“So I think it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, but I wouldn’t let it consume me either.” Negativity and trolling on social media can sometimes come with the territory of being well known, but Mikey doesn’t check for it.
“I’m sure it’s there,” he said.
“I’ve seen some comments, not about myself, because every person out there in the public eye is there to be shot at on social media, unfortunately.
“I think one problem is there is a lot of anonymity and you can post something without putting your name and face behind it.
“That’s something that probably isn’t a strong point about these apps.
But it is what it is, it’s the world we live in today.” While Mikey enjoys some scrolling time, he values the importance of switching off from technology too.
“I like my time to scroll if I’m sitting down and trying to switch off from work or outside training,” he told us.
“I try to limit it, but it’s not easy as it can be addictive at times.
“Sometimes I leave the phone at home and bring my dog for a walk, or myself and my girlfriend Sharlene would go out together and leave the phones at home.
“I think that’s a good space to be in, because you can just have a nice conversation and focus on what’s in front of you rather than wonder what’s going on social media – that can take your head to a different place altogether.” Away from hurling , Mikey works as a secondary school teacher and can see the impact social media and technology have on children and teenagers these days.
“It’s a really difficult one, to be honest,” he said.
“There are so many positives to social media, but it does have negatives too.
“As I said, anonymity and people being able to hide different accounts is a big negative.
“It’s very easy to say something hurtful to someone if you’re not putting your name to it.
“So that’s one thing I worry about for younger people; reading stuff that isn’t true or reading something about themselves that might put them in a bad place.
Seeing that behind a screen isn’t nice.” Read the full interview with Mikey in this month’s issue of RSVP Magazine, on shelves nationwide now.
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Mikey Breen, GAA, Tipperary, Sharlene Mawdsley, social media trolling, hurling