As a student athlete, social media can be a friend and an enemy. Social media is a way to keep in touch with friends and family from far away, but there are posts that could also negatively affect an athlete’s reputation.
Every day, social media is used to create a virtual social life through applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Social media doesn’t have to be about taking a selfie to get likes or communicating about how your day is going. Instead, student athletes can use social media as an effective tool to promote themselves as a role model on and off the field.
Student athletes post pictures and videos of themselves with teammates during practice, weights, competitions and study sessions. This portrays athletes as roles models, but when they post statuses with bad language or pictures and videos of drinking, smoking or holding up obscene hand signs, they don’t look like that same role model. Student athletes should be careful of what they are posting on social media to protect their reputations and futures.
At times, social media can serve a good purpose for athletes, as they post these statuses and pictures for their families and friends to see their athletic experiences. Other times, social media can be their Achilles heel, as some athletes may post something that can give a bad impression and, possibly, ruin their reputations. Whether it is a profane status or a picture of something inappropriate, these will forever live on the walls of social media. This can not only ruin their social lives, but it can also ruin their professional lives. When a student athlete applies for a job or explores other educational opportunities, their social media accounts can make a difference in whether or not they get hired or accepted. How they are represented on social media may not be the same as how they present themselves in public, so this is something that athletes must take into consideration.
Cardale Jones, quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes Football team was the face of the university when he took over for injured Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett in 2014. Although he represented Ohio State well on the field, Jones was a loose cannon on Twitter, as he tweeted out “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS.” That tweet portrayed Jones as someone who does not care about his education and just wants to play football. That tells athletes, the university and the nation who look up to Jones that they don’t need to focus on school, just sports and that class does not exist when the athlete is there on scholarship for sports. The tweet did cause a stir in the media, and Jones should have been more considerate by posting something inspirational or beneficial.
As writer Fred R. Barnard said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Student athletes can be role models on social media by having a healthy social profile and positively influencing others. It is important to make a good impression on people, and one post or picture that shows a student athlete in a negative light can change people’s perception. It’s like being introduced to someone for the first time. That first impression counts, but once it goes wrong, it is hard to fix.
