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Final DRAFT
Sacrifices of Twitter: A Social Media Investigation
The rise in popularity of social media websites is one that is inarguable. Over the past decade many generations of people, of any age, have become a part of these social media websites. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are sites that almost every is a part of and where many people just do not quite understand where to draw the line. Specifically, the website Twitter that only allows a person to write something that is less than one hundred and forty characters effects things. On this particular website you can find celebrities, friends, news sites, and many more who you can “follow” and then find on your news feed. Though Twitter may seem like a carefree environment where you are allowed to say whatever you want, think again. Twitter is a site that can be viewed by almost anyone and let’s just say that the things you say, “can and will be used against you in the court of law”. One particular group who has fallen a victim to the sacrificing of the first amendment is college athletes. If one was to simply Google the phrase “college athletes on Twitter”, numerous articles would come up about college athletes who were suspended, kicked off their team, or even prosecuted as a result of what they said on Twitter. The question now stands, is it fair for athletes to have to sacrifice their right of the first amendment because they are athletes? College athletes across the United States have been forced to give up this right because of the punishment that comes along with tweeting the wrong thing.
The research gathered from Twitter for this study was taken from five, male college athletes. Four of these athletes are from division two universities, and one of the players is from a division one school. All of the athletes are between the ages of twenty to twenty three, a prime age to be a part of social media websites. The data collected was made up of ten tweets from each athlete that led to the total of fifty tweets of data collection. After collecting data from these individuals, I found that just about the only thing that they do tweet about is sports. This is because they have been warned about the many different types of punishments that can come along with tweeting something that could be taken offensively to someone.
The idea that many of these athletes’ tweets are viewable by thousands of people is what changes the Twitter game for them. The idea that they represent a school and their team is what has some coaches and administrators so concerned about what athletes are writing on this social networking site. USA Today writes, “When you're 20 years old, the face of college football and broadcasting it to 250,000 people, it creates headlines” explain the problem with athletes catching the media’s attention (Auerbach n.p.). From the data I collected though, not one athlete tweeted about anything besides their team, professional sports, or winning. This is because they are well aware of the punishments that can follow if they were to tweet something that would catch the eyes of thousands. USA Today interviewed a coach from Virginia Commonwealth’s football team where he said he “met with individual teams prior to the season to discuss the dangers of careless social media use” (Auerbach). This is something that is occurring in locker rooms all across the United States. Coaches do not want to lose athletes because of their carelessness on social networking sites. This is why tweets like, “Great weekend of baseball! #lovethisteam” and “Way to take care of business today boys” were ones that were found by all the college athlete profiles that were reviewed (Data Collection).
Within the tweets that were collected, not one athlete had a tweet that did not talk about motivation, their team, winning, or a professional sports game. None of the athletes talked about normal things you would find on a college student’s Twitter profile like bad teachers, something they disagreed with, curse words, etc. but this is because we know that college athletes are held to a higher standard. No tweets about partying, beer, homework. Nothing. This is because it is true that college athletes almost do have to sacrifice their right to freedom of speech because of the punishments that can occur from their coaches, university administrators, or even media networks. The athletes almost use to Twitter to basically promote their team and their love for sports. For example one athlete tweeted, “Heart hasn’t pounded like this since the Steelers 09 Superbowl win #masters” (Data Collection). This shows that even in this particular athlete’s free time he is not tweeting about hobbies or going out on a college night he is just tweeting more about sports. Probably because he is well aware that his coaches eyes are watching his tweets just like everyone else who is a follower on Twitter.
In addition, another negative for college athletes on Twitter is their fan base tweeting negative things at them. After a loss I am sure we can all think about a few things we would like to say to the players but we do not because we do not have that relationship with them. Twitter makes it possible for tweets to reach athletes to tell them about their poor performance in the game or what they could have done better. Auerbach writes, “Some fans don't have that kind of patience. They draft 140 characters and press send, not knowing or caring how it will make the recipient feel” (n.p.). This reveals that not only do athletes have to sacrifice their freedom of speech on Twitter, but they also have to deal with upset fans that want to critique them. It seems like this is a losing game for college athletes on Twitter. The worst part is, athletes cannot tweet back to these fans because once again their will be effects of that as well.
College athletes on Twitter lose all the time. They have to sacrifice their right to freedom of speech because they are held on a higher platform. After researching, it seems as if the only things that college athletes want or can tweet about is sports. Sure, sports take up the majority of their time, but I am sure that at times they would like to tweet about topics other than sports. The punishments that could come along with tweeting something that could be found “unacceptable” are just not worth it to them. Aside from losing their right of the first amendment they have to also deal with crazy fans that can tweet whatever they want at them. It seems to be an unfair standard for college athletes, but they must be okay with sacrificing for the sports world.
Works Citied
Auerbach, D.. N.p.. Web. 26 Apr 2013. The good and bad of Twitter and college athletes. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/other/2013/01/10/college-athletes-twitter-criticism-johnny-manziel-kentucky/1823959/>.
Raw Twitter data1. Great weekend of baseball!!! #LoveThisTeam
#BuiltToWin 2. PreWorkout in, music up, windows down, on my way to the gym #LoveIt 3. Beautiful day to be on the diamond. Way to take care of business today boys. 4. Up next @TheRock vs @JohnCena If the Rock doesn't win I'm not going to class tommorow. 5. #HateMathClass #AthleticAbsentForms #Banana https://vine.co/v/bTlaqdZO2Bj 6. Another twin bill today. 7. Cant wait to play tmrw.. double header at Mansfield. Big conference weekend for the Warriors 8. Can't wait for Friday to get back after. God I hate losing. 9. Due to games I have 1 more class this week. #LoveIt 10. Youkilis in a Yanks uniform is flat out awkward though. 11. Heart hasn't pounded like this since the Steelers 09 Super Bowl win. #masters 12. Pens clinch the division tonight. #TheCupIsNext 13. Ben Crenshaw Cadie Carl Jackson Has Rich Masters Memories | Golf Channel http://shar.es/dVnpy via @sharethis 14. Master's week means only one thing. The best tweets of the year from @ShooterMcGavin_ 15. So, anyone still knocking at the door to play the Penguins? #streak #iginla #StanleyCupOrBust 16. Last regular season game of the yr between Pittsburgh and Philly #letsgopens 17. Quarterfinals live on ESPNU. Maybe the best round of the tournament. 18. First round of NCAA Basketball tourney is great but has nothing on the NCAA Wrestling tournament going on right now #d1wrestle #espn3 #espnu 19. Atta boy Niskanen!!! #Pens 20. Chalk up another W for the boys from Pittsburgh #penguinsrolling 21. Espn 330 let's go. 22. Well social world, its been real. You won't be seeing me on here no more. If you need me hit the cell. 23. Feels good knowing I made somebody else feel better. 24. I can't wait to PRACTICE man. 25. Handle your business, without people knowing your business. 26. This EVO 3D phone is heaven. 27. I live it up like these are my last days 28. Currently packing. 29. Nipsey hussle all thru my ears at the moment. 30. better days to come. 31. Duke = the last hope Nike has in this tourney 32. and the goatee is back #springball 33. 26 Mar 34. Working up a sweat with this backyard soccer #FDK 35. atta boy Tiger #1 #dudecangolf 36. #Harvard baby! 37. that play was dirty Kobe...? yeaaa no it wasnt. don't be a sore loser 38. Enjoying some German white chocolate I won in class today #buckets 39. it's gonna be tough but I'm real excited to get back to learning German #Deutsch #allday 40. Flight info for my flight says "Bundle Up". Sounds like shorts and sandals weather out in Boston. My style #SFO #VirginAmerica 41. Pick a goal, chart a course, and don't come up for air until you meet it 42. Nothing beats early morning PT.. gets the body and mind in check with the spirit 43. Sometimes, to find the answer your looking for all you need is to find the courage to speak how you feel 44. Finalllyyy back in the right state of mind... time to get out of this slump! 45. Rome wasn't built in one day 46. Dom mont@dom_mont31 Mar 47. I can lift you up, I can show you what you want to see, I can take you where you want to be #safeandsound 48. Nothing better than a home cooked meal with the family 49. Plans change.. time to adapt and overcome 50. Tomorrow is another day to mash baseball's *ALL REPOSTS DONE WITH PERMISSION FROM USERS |
Summary of data1. Tweet about love for their team.
2. Tweet about preparing for a game. 3. Tweet about game day. 4. Mention of the Rock and John Cena, followed about wrestle tweet. 5. Link to Vine about hating class. 6. Tweet about winning. 7. Tweet about upcoming game. 8. Tweet about losing. 9. Tweet about having one more class. 10. Tweet about Yankees game. 11. Tweet about the Masters. 12. Tweet about Pittsburgh Penguins. 13. Link to an article about the Masters. 14. Tweet about the Masters. 15. Tweet about the Stanley Cup. 16. Tweet about professional hockey. 17. Tweet about March Madness game. 18. Tweet about NCAA Wrestling Tournament. 19. Tweet about the Pittsburgh Penguins. 20. Tweet about the Pittsburgh Penguins. 21. Tweet about a show on ESPN. 22. Tweet about taking a hiatus from social networking. 23. Tweet about making other people feel good. 24. Tweet about minding your own business. 25. Tweet about the EVO cell phone. 26. Tweet about life. 27. Tweet about packing. 28. Tweet about a rap song. 29. Tweet about motivation. 30. Tweet about the Duke basketball team. 31. Tweet about the day of the week. 32. Tweet about Harvard winning. 33. Tweet about backyard baseball. 34. Tweet about Tiger Woods. 35. Tweet about Kobe Bryant. 36. Tweet about chocolate. 37. Tweet about learning German. 38. Tweet about a plane flight. 39. Tweet about achieving a goal. 40. Tweet about practice. 41. Tweet about having courage. 42. Tweet about being in a slump. 43. Tweet about motivation. 44. Tweet about the date. 45. Tweet about song lyrics. 46. Tweet about a home cooked meal. 47. Tweet about overcoming obstacles. 48. Tweet about hitting baseballs. 49. Tweet about a motivational quote. 50. Tweet about the Masters. *ALL REPOSTS DONE WITH PERMISSION FROM USERS |