A study by Baylor University and Clemson University state that student-athletes could lose athletic eligibility or a scholarship through inappropriate use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. The study, "The Positives and Negatives of Twitter: Exploring How Student-Athletes Use Twitter and Respond to Critical Tweets." show that fans and critics would often vent their frustrations on a players performance through social media. These can be often be harshly critical and brutal.
Responding to these messages can be risky to their scholarship and athletic career if they respond wrongly to it. Some choose to shrug off or delete insults -- or even using them constructively as challenges to improve.
The emergence of social media allowed people to interact with others outside of their own social circles. It has given users a platform to share and discuss comments and opinions about anything they want to talk about.
Social media platforms like Twitter, Google+, and Facebook also allow everyone access to famous personalities and celebrities. It is common for these personalities to have a social media account to interact with their fans. They share their opinions, comment on current events or just inform their followers what they are doing at the moment.
Such a direct and real time connection with followers can benefit celebrities who need to be in the social radar regularly but it also has a downside. By being constantly accessible to followers exposes their comments and opinions regardless of impropriety.
It also works both ways, followers can also communicate their opinions back to the person, positive or not. This kind interaction although healthy among "real world" friends doesn't really translate well in the social media world where most of the followers are either anonymous or unknown.
