Fact number one. Social media has brought the world together, connected us with old friends and even brought us closer to some family members. Fact number two. If not utilized right, social media can be a detriment to your personal relationships, and even cost you your job.
Antonio Brown's eventful summer may best suit the latter. Brown, who was recently cut by the New England Patriots, used the social-media platform Twitter to express what he deemed as unfair treatment by the NFL and those criticizing him. Brown was cut by the Patriots after two allegations of sexual assault were pinned to his name. He would then have his own texts leaked; chastising the second accuser in a group text.
Guess where it was broadcast on? His home away from home: Twitter.
Those mentioned in his Tweet-raft: Shannon Sharpe, Robert Kraft (who released him) and former teammate Ben Roethlisberger. Brown has since deleted those tweets, but it's become painfully clear that social media is Brown's Modus Operandi when it comes to communicating.
But social media has presented the world with two realizations. We can either abuse the virtual world by projecting personas we want others to see. Or, we can utilize it for what it's worth, but put stock into the real world.
It's common, as the everyday person has struggled with the two realities. However, it's important to remember that social media isn't real life, and it's become a 24/7 venture of performing art.
For Antonio Brown, it's why it has been easy for him to cast blame, but hard for him to remain on teams. Brown hasn't realized that the correlations aren't matching up. On Twitter, he can blame the Steelers, Raiders, and the Patriots for getting in a talented black man's way. On Instagram, he can use photo illustrations and memes to blame the NFL for keeping him down. From helmetgate to pointing the finger at others with sexual assault charges, Brown has found loyal fan members who have pledged allegiance to him even when his behavior made no sense.
But in the real world, Antonio Brown is floundering. He's lost out on nearly 40 million dollars in guaranteed money and has had a contract with three teams in six months. What made matters worse, was not being able to stay with New England for at least a season. He couldn't even make it to two games as a Patriot. While his panderers on social media will explain away his behavior, it does nothing to rectify the damage in reality that has been done.
Social media for celebrities encourages and enables more than it pushes accountability. It's the de facto way to build a brand currently: athletes, rappers and entertainers capitalize from social media stunts to grow their following. Even when the behavior is foolish, fans put on their social media personas to condone the behavior, just to fit into the social media status quo.
It can even work in the opposite effect. Us as people can not condone bad behavior online, when in reality the critique hasn't stuck. Main examples, Donald Trump and Kanye West.
However, as Brown has witnessed, the real world will always matter more. The Patriots moved off him quickly due to his bad judgement texting his second accuser. The Steelers saw that his behavior became a detriment to the team far beyond their control. The Raiders read the writing on the wall, too.
Antonio Brown using social media as his ally crumbled his reality. While on Twitter and Instagram, he can fake and perpetuate his actual happiness, it's hard to imagine in real time he isn't at least disappointed in his conduct. It's best for Brown to realize his social media actions have provided collateral damage. No one will question Brown's talent and work ethic. However, they will question if Brown is more invested in virtual reality than actual reality. And that is where Brown is appearing to have the main disconnect: social media friends and supporters, aren't your real supporters.
In the meantime, Brown has elected to go back to Central Michigan to complete some online coursework. Of course, it was documented online. With Antonio Brown, we can't expect anything less. We can only hope he recognizes his own self-destruction before it's too late.
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