Ed Sheeran thinks it was "healthy" deleting his social media account

He said: "If you were a massive musician in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s, you’d avoid [the hate] because, by and large, people never say bad things to your face. I read online, though, and now people can hide behind a screen, you get true feelings. I’ve met many journalists who said stuff about me, but when you meet them, it’s all smiles ...

"But I don’t think any musician has had their sanity or career helped by replying to people on Twitter. People either really love you or you’re the antichrist. Nobody just says, ‘He’s all right.’ And since I’ve deleted my account, I haven’t really paid attention to anything said about me, which has been healthy."

And Ed feels he is at a point in his career where he has never felt so much adoration and hate, all at the same time.

He added: "It’s weird. Because I’ve never felt this much adoration and I’ve never felt this much hate. It’s a balance. I’m off to the Q awards this afternoon, and 50% of the musicians there think I’m the most uncool thing on the planet. I don’t really know how I’m going to deal with that, going, ‘I really like your music. But you think I’m a ****."

However, the 26-year-old singer isn't bothered by his critics because he has enough fans to give him a "very, very healthy living".

He told The Sunday Times' Culture magazine: "I’ve given up explaining that. I’ve tapped into as many ¬people that are going to see me live as I can. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m enough people’s cup of tea to have a very, very healthy living, so I don’t feel a need to justify it."