Why Celebrities Should Not Manage Their Own Social Media

Celebrities. They are just like us, but they typically have fame, fortune, and way more followers on social media than the average user.

However, a new decade may begin a new norm as it appears that celebrities are speaking out about their love/hate relationship with social media even more than before. Us social media power users have noticed that some public figures simply want to be left alone and not share a large amount of their day speaking to strangers (even if they are fans) on the platforms we obsess over.

And the weird thing about it is, we are all starting to be okay with that. Since 59% of social media users say they would be fine giving up social media, we get why so many VIPs are over it. We also understand that we have little to no chance of seeing certain celebrities like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, or Jay-Z have a true presence on social media.

Since starting this social media management journey, we have always questioned why celebrities even bother to manage their own accounts due to a lack of time, the amount of trouble they can get themselves into, and the amount of backlash they encounter every single day. Thankfully, platforms like Instagram have made it easy for all users (not just celebrities) to filter comments for certain words and filter messages so we can all focus on the people we actually want to speak to. Unfortunately, we do not think many personalities are aware of these tools and how it can be used for the greater good.

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Drake only allows comments from Instagram users he follows otherwise the comments on this post would have been pretty wild.

Here are four reasons why celebrities should not fully control their social media and solutions to make their experience better if they choose to keep a presence.

1) It Is Not Good For Their Mental Health

It is safe to say that we love Cardi B as much as the next person. The last four years of her life have been beyond transformative and have easily elevated her to heights that some entertainers may never reach.

At the same time, this has opened her up to extreme criticism from those who simply hate to see her win.

There have been many times where Mrs. Cephus has taken to social media to express her anger and disappointment with users in her comments and we constantly wonder why she evens spends her time reading her comments. She has taken numerous breaks from social media and recently made an announcement stating that she will no longer use it (as of publishing time, her Instagram and Twitter accounts are active, but this could change at any minute).

Cardi is not alone in this as many others in the spotlight and under massive amounts of pressure feel the same way. In the Winter 2020 issue of Fast Company magazine, Idris Elba states, “I’ve been trying to wean myself off [of social media]. I used to post a lot more, but it’s been putting me off lately.” Chance the Rapper also stated that, “I think [social media is] definitely unhealthy, for sure! It’s just the reality of the time” when asked how he handles social media in the same edition of the magazine. Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, and Normani have all been known to take a break from social media as well due to negative feedback from their followers.

Solution: Cardi should turn her Instagram comments off, only allow people she follows to comment, or use the filter feature to block certain words from appearing in her comments. Her manager or other members of her team should read her Twitter mentions and respond to questions and concerns from her account for her.



2) It Is An Easy Way to Lose Money

Lizzo is another example of a celebrity who made a grand entrance into stardom rather quickly. Her body positive posts and ballads have easily made her an instant sensation across the country, if not the world.

Becoming a household name can of course have its own issues once you realize the power of your posts. Back in September 2019, Lizzo was a major topic of discussion after tweeting the name and photo of a Postmates delivery driver who she claims stole her food. It was later revealed the courier tried to get in contact with Lizzo, but the star was unresponsive. The driver left (which is customary) and Lizzo then put her on blast. Lizzo’s followers then found the driver and posted her personal information online and sent her threats. Lizzo apologized, but a few weeks later the driver sued her.

When it comes to social media, celebrities must remember that they are famous. While we can tastefully call out a brand for subpar service, a celebrity cannot always do the same because it can a) make them seem ungrateful (which we can disagree with, but still) b) have a negative impact on the person/brand mentioned and c) open them up to lawsuits.

At the same time, Lizzo is no stranger to negativity coming her way. Just last week she announced that she is taking a break from Twitter due to the amount of trolls she has harassing her in her mentions which is beyond unfortunate.

Solution: Moving forward, Lizzo should have her manager or another member of her team post content for her and engage with fans. Lizzo can still create fun Instagram Stories and things of that nature and share them with her social media manager via a shared iPhone album so she does not have to see or directly interact with trolls.

3) It Can Make Them Come Off As Insensitive

Have you ever posted something and immediately regretted it? We do this on occasion, but luckily we can more than likely delete whatever it was before it is seen by our followers.

Lorde probably wishes she had the opportunity to do this back in 2018 when she posted an Instagram photo of a bathtub filled with water and captioned it “And iiii will always love you.” The problem with this is the lyric is from the Whitney Houston song "I Will Always Love You" and Houston died in a bathtub a few years prior.

Without context, trolls made it seem like Lorde was mocking Houston, but while we all know it was an accident, it was certainly one of those “what were you thinking?” moments.

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Solution: Lorde should have thought a little harder before posting this and maybe even had an extra set of eyes approve all posts to ensure nothing came off negatively.


4) It Can Have A Negative Impact On Their Brand

Antonio Brown, who is also known as AB, had a Q4 that was filled with a lot of drama… and he had a lot to say about all of it.

After being released by the Raiders and then cut by the Patriots in the same month, AB began a series of Twitter and Instagram rants that were often contradictory and overall confusing. One day he would be upset with the NFL and the next day he would be asking to play football again. Somewhere in the mix, he also began a music career.

His posts have made many worry about his well being and if they are a cry for help, but he assures us all that they “are just fun.”

Solution: Throw. the. phone. away.

In all seriousness, a manager, agent, or friend should tell AB that he needs to stop tweeting for a while and let them takeover in order to express his feelings in a logical manner. The next steps in his career may depend on it.

There are many positive reasons to be on social media, but there are just as many that make it difficult. The time that celebs (and in all honesty, non-celebs) spend on their accounts could easily be used to manage their brand, relax, or spend time with family. We also wish that the noted solutions were not necessary and that we could all use social media to just positively communicate with one another.

What are your thoughts on personalities and celebrities managing their own social media accounts? Is it something they should tackle daily, or let a trusted friend manage for them? Let us know below in the comments.

Remember: It costs nothing to be kind online and offline.

OpinionsAlexis JohnsonInstagram, Twitter, Mental Health, CelebritiesComment