The Hokky Caraka Case: The Importance of Social Media Quarantine for Young Footballers

Hokky Caraka's action of sending a warning to five accounts that made inappropriate comments towards him serves as a reminder of the importance of restricting social media activity for football players during tournaments. Throughout the ASEAN U-23 Championship, Indonesian football players still had the freedom to use social media.

This ban has become crucial for young footballers. Not all young players possess adequate emotional maturity to handle fan responses to their performances.

In contrast to professional footballers who tend to be more mature in terms of emotional intelligence. This is what explains why world-class footballers can still perform well despite continuously engaging with social media throughout the tournament.

Hokky became enraged as five social media accounts attacked him with inappropriate words that bordered on harassment. This stemmed from the disappointment of Indonesian supporters regarding Hokky's performance, which has not shown improvement. Although he has played for 61 minutes in three group stage matches, Hokky has yet to make a significant contribution. The 20-year-old forward is still without goals or assists.

This is not the first time Hokky has faced personal attacks. During the era of coach Shin Tae-yong, he also frequently received insults for being perceived as lacking the quality of a national team player. However, Shin at that time defended him by stating that fans should be patient in waiting for Hokky to develop into a great footballer.

"Hokky is a young player with a lot of potential. So please, (provide support) so that he can develop, not to bring him down and make him lose confidence," said Shin in 2024.

In the context of Indonesian football, everything is about results. Fans tend to be victory hunters, making the idea of waiting for players to develop, as stated by Shin, a utopian concept. The case of personal attacks on Hokky is evidence of how difficult it is to expect fans to change.

Indeed, Indonesian footballers should continue to receive support throughout the tournament. The momentum for criticism would be better utilized once the tournament has concluded, so as not to disrupt the focus and undermine the morale of young players. Regardless, these footballers represent Indonesia on the international stage. Criticizing, especially to the point of personal attacks with inappropriate language during the tournament, is not an elegant approach.

Referring to the philosophy of stoicism, we are taught to focus only on what we can control, rather than on things beyond our power. If the responses from fans are beyond our self-control, it would be wise for players to start limiting access to social media in order to maintain concentration before matches. This step also minimizes the amount of drama resulting from personal attacks.

This was also recognized by Sumardji while serving as the Manager of the Indonesia U-22 Team competing in the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games. At that time, Sumardji prohibited the players from using social media in the lead-up to the semifinals.

"Today is the last day (to access social media). Leading up to the semifinals and finals, it will no longer be allowed. This is an agreement between the management and the players," said Sumardji at that time, to Kompas in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The ban ultimately bore fruit. "Garuda Muda" smoothly advanced to the final without being disturbed by off-field drama. The gold medal in football at the SEA Games has finally returned to the embrace of Mother Earth after last being won at the Manila SEA Games in 1991.

Reflecting on the experience from two years ago, it would be prudent for the management team of the U-23 Indonesia to reactivate the social media ban. Until now, the policy prohibiting social media use has not been implemented consistently and systematically. With each change in coaching staff and management, the policies applied have also varied.

Until now, players of the U-23 team such as Jens Raven and Frengky Missa are still actively posting on Instagram. Without any restrictions on social media, the effort to protect oneself while maintaining focus ultimately returns to the awareness of each player.