Social media – the megaphone for the village idiot?

One thing that always amazes me about social media is how some people think it overrides basic rules of common sense. If you update your Facebook status to single, your husband/wife is probably going to be annoyed. If you tweet that you are at work with a hangover you’d better be sure that you have an understanding boss. Often it feels that social media is a megaphone for the village idiot.

I’m not a social media Luddite by any stretch and can see the incredible power that channels such as Twitter and Facebook have to bring people together. Take football for example. The connection between highly paid sports stars and the fans that indirectly pay their wages has been fraying over recent years. You’re not likely to bump into Wayne Rooney down at Tescos and all ‘official’ interviews are heavily vetted by agents and PR people, often turning them into bland stories devoid of any interest. Social media and Twitter in particular has provided the opportunity to change all that – footballers (and any other celebrity) can tweet about the most mundane details of their lives. It is kind of reassuring that a multi-millionaire spends his spare time watching EastEnders and moaning about the weather.

But going back to the megaphone/village idiot metaphor footballers need to think before they type. Ryan Babel of Liverpool’s now infamous tweet depicting ref Howard Webb as a Man Utd player has brought the wrath of the FA down on him. While it is fair enough that players need to be careful what they tweet (back to common sense again) it would be a real pity if it stopped footballers interacting with their fans because they are worried about speaking out of turn. Simply engage brain before tweeting – it is football’s chance to build lasting relationships with fans, rather than be seen as overpaid village idiots.