Ovie Soko says this year’s ‘Love Island’ stars shouldn’t pay "too much attention" to social media messages – positive or negative.
The former Islander – who reached the final on last year’s summer series – insists engaging in too many flattering messages will start "ruining your perception of reality", and the inevitable negative comments will "fool" people, so he advises to steer clear of them altogether.
He said: "Have a time of the day when you’re on it but otherwise don’t read the negative and don’t read the positive.
"Too much of the love is bad for you. It will start ruining your perception of reality because then it can almost get to a point when you’re putting pressure on yourself to be a certain way.
"And then when someone says something negative about you – which is bound to happen because not everyone can like you – it will fool you that no one is supposed to think anything bad of you. I wouldn’t read either of it."
And the basketball player admits he has never "focused on" social media much anyway.
He added to Metro.co.uk: "It wasn’t something that I focused on so much.
"It’s been a lot easier for me because it’s not a job.
"I’m from a sports world where you’re publicly critiqued on something you’ve literally spent years learning how to do, possibly by people who have never done it as a profession."
Ovie recently said he thinks ‘Love Island’ bosses should pick contestants who viewers can "really relate to".
He explained: "I’ve said that, in my opinion, I would rather [they] go and pluck them from work places and pluck them from all over, people that can really relate to. People will tune in massively because then they’re more relatable, they’re not people who have been in the public eye so they might have learnt how to carry themselves.
"At the end of the day, ‘Love Island’ is a social experiment. So the best social experiment is one that you can have the most normal people possible, not the people whose job requires them to be in the public eye, requires them to maybe carry themselves a certain way.
"People can really, really relate to the postman and to the milkman and the baristas because these are the kind of people you come across every single day."
Ovie Soko warns Love Island stars about social media
