It is official. Te’o is quitting Twitter.
While the rather disturbing and peculiar case of Te’o and the social media ‘shman’ has all but settled, the Notre Dame football star and NFL prospect Manti Te’o has written off social media for good. Quite a shocker since he was really into Internet dating. Really. It could happen to anyone.
Te’o believes that this controversial scandal will not hurt his chances as a possible NFL draft and he might be right; however, while Te’o became a celebrity from this debacle, there are celebrities who abuse social media and use it as a battleground for offensive tweeting and irrational behavior.
Take for instance Chris Brown and Jenny Johnson’s little spat. Last year, Jenny Johnson tweeted at Brown setting off the ‘Black Dynamite’ with a retort to his “I look old for 23” photo. This vulgar behavior between the two celebrities and their followers is just downright embarrassing and should have never been allowed to escalate at all.
Let’s not forget the dumbest tweets from celebrities we love to idolize. Here is a little tid-bit from Paris Hilton:
Riiiigggghhht.
So, how can we avoid the same mistakes that our beloved Hollywood heroes make?
Dirty Laundry
Don’t air it. We understand it is difficult to hold back repressed rage that only your therapist can manage. In all honesty, what matters most is that you get it out. Right? Wrong?! Confronting someone on social media is cowardly, immature and unprofessional. Nobody likes a digital bully.
If you are the recipient of such digital violence, report it immediately. You can stop Internet violence by not contributing to it.
Social media is meant as a sharing platform to share intelligent or witty content and not violent acts of rage. For crying out loud, there are countries waging war via tweet! Leave the fighting to one on one confrontations and quit being childish.
Think Before You Tweet
If only every member of the human race followed this little gem of advice. Most cases, celebrities are the first to voice an opinion (next to bloggers of course) on worldly issues. Unfortunately, the celebrity is not the first to edit their message to the masses.
To avoid tweeting or posting something that can’t be taken back make sure to edit your posts and review your tweets. You can be controversial without being vulgar and blatantly offensive. If you are trying to be clever and offer pearls of wisdom to your followers, make sure to fact check yourself as well. No one likes a know-it-all who knows nothing.
Screen Your Followers
What happened to Te’o is unfortunate. It is sad to deny a football star’s love for a man posing as a woman. Online dating is nothing new and the nightmare of meeting your blind date Sarah who happens to be a 300 lb man named Jeff who lives at home with his mother, could possibly come true. So how can you avoid getting into a “Te’o” situation?
Don’t just let any profile follow you. Putting your profile on private and screening your follow and friend requests like your answering machine on a Friday night will keep you from falling for the “Te’o”. This is difficult but it can help you avoid the unnecessary love triangles that could occur.