ECHOSPORT'S Chris Phillips has his say on the social media boycott.

TO tweet or not to tweet?

That is the question facing all reporters this weekend.

As I am sure you will have seen by now, football clubs, leagues and authorities are all partaking in a social media boycott in an effort to stamp out the ever increasing abuse posted online.

And any attempt to make that happen should be strongly encouraged.

I fully support anyone who has opted not to post for all the right reasons as I know only too well what impact abuse given out online can have.

For many years I hid my own mental health issues.

I was scared and ashamed and feared what kind of reaction I might receive.

After all I was the silly one and the class clown who made people laugh.

But, in reality, it was a completely different story and there lies the danger with social media because many people simply do not realise the power their posts can possess.

I will never understand why people think it is acceptable to dish out such disgusting abuse.

But when I am feeling good any insults coming my way online do not really hurt me.

However, when I am down those words cut deep and make an already despairing and sometimes dangerous situation even worse.

Don’t get me wrong, I get nothing like the amount of abuse and attention given to top sport stars and celebrities.

But I do know how it feels to get abuse and I’m sure the comments sections on this very story will prove that once again.

I’ve now learnt ways to deal with these situations.

I’ve changed the settings on my profile to only see the posts of people I know and have also stopped visiting other websites to stop myself seeing other unpleasant posts.

Criticism is fine but abuse simply isn’t and there needs to be more accountability.

Most people, I’m sure, would agree with that.

But I’ve seen some supporting this boycott who are part of the problem not the solution while, without wanting to be harsh, others seem to be joining in as it is now seem to be ‘on trend.’ That’s never been me though.

I will always have to manage my mental health but I’ve learnt to accept that now.

I still take medication but aim to turn that negative into a positive by starting my own mental health podcast, alongside a friend of mine, and that has led to a brilliant support group being formed.

I’m proud to now be a Trustee for SECE Mind and I’m pleased to soon be starting an Echo campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues.

Speaking out should always be encouraged and I will still be doing that this weekend.

My tweets will not be as frequent as usual and, during this unique period, the posts will be interrupted by others to do with mental health.

But, if nothing else, this boycott has given us time to reflect on how and why we use social media.

And I really hope that can make a difference, for longer than three days.