This week I’ll dive into the problems of social media marketing. A big problem around social media is the well-known issue of mental health
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/social-media-mental-health-negative-effects-depression-anxiety-addiction-memory-a8307196.html. Heavy use of social media has in many cases led to anxiety and depression, and that has also started to affect the NBA and its players. Many well written articles
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2824656-dirk-nowitzki-social-media-changing-how-modern-nba-players-view-winning or
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2798257-is-social-media-addiction-in-the-nba-out-of-control have reported that players are negatively affected by the constant pressure of social media. Anyone can go out on Twitter and criticise you anonymously, which for products like sports can have negative effects.
Even though more traditional products don’t have the same issues as the NBA, all companies should discuss the use of social media from an ethical point of view. How much should you promote your product on Instagram? Should you promote your product through a popular game application or a social influencer, even though you are aware that people feel anxiety when using social media? As lately as this week, a social influencer was caught eating fish
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/diet/vegan-blogger-slammed-for-admitting-shes-started-eating-fish-and-eggs/news-story/78c411ad728c86c5064502b36849c84f, even though she’s been promoting veganism for the past few years, causing a major ethical dispute for herself and the companies sponsoring her. This, together with the NBAs example shows, that there’s a fine line with social media marketing.
I’m still undecided on next week’s topic. I’m thinking about technology, or a regression analysis on the determinants of social media following for sports teams. If you want, you can comment and tell me which one you want. Until next time!
Jere’s digital marketing journey 
This is such an important topic! Especially when the ‘products’ of the business are people. Considering what’s recently happened to AFLW’s Tayla Harris (targeted by trolls on social media), I do believe that organisations have a responsibility to ensure that social media is used safely and ethically, and that particularly sports teams stand behind their players and support them.
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Yeah, you’re absolutely right! I hope this issue is discussed much more in the future, as it is such an important topic.
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Interesting article Jerblo. As per livs comment, it’s really crucial that we look at the way our sporting stars are scrutinised. Only recently Tom Boyd of the Western Bulldogs resigned due to mental health issues.
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Exactly. My biggest fear is that this will become a trend in the future for those in the field of sports.
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Do you think the pros of anonymity on the internet outweigh the cons? Is complete freedom of expression worth the targeted harassment some people receive?
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A great question to be honest. I don’t have a straight answer, however, I think anonymity is becoming a larger problem on the internet.
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