98 Year-old-nun is a Sports Celebrity
Sister Jean, a 98 year-old-nun, became a sports celebrity during March Madness. Loyola-Chicago’s team chaplain cheered on the team from the sidelines as well as her Twitter page.
@SisJeanLoyola acquired 14,500 followers in less than a week. She posted the following Tweet and gained over three million views:
“Many people have asked me what I gave up for lent. My answer is simple. Losing.”
While fanaticism can emerge anywhere, this type of behavior does not come from a 98 year-old-nun. Despite this (very basic) logic, even the NCAA’s official March Madness account and the Loyola-Chicago basketball team account were some of @SisJeanLoyola’s followers. It was not until a person from Loyola realized the account was operated by someone other than Sister Jean that it was shutdown.
The true identity of @SisJeanLoyola came to be known as Shannon the Dude, an on-air personality and Kentucky Sports Radio Producer. The world’s revelation of the true identity of @SisJeanLoyola has me thinking a lot about the ethics of fake twitter accounts.
What is the difference between identity theft and online impersonation? While there are some obvious parody Twitter accounts, like @FakeChuckNorris, others like @SisJeanLoyola are not so explicit.
Although I am sure Shannon the Dude had no intentions of harming Sister Jean of Loyola, (in my opinion) his act could be criminal. Assuming the identity of another person online is online impersonation and posing as someone else is a criminal offense. The question (for me) becomes, did Sister Jean consent to the creation of the Twitter page?
We all know how much Sister Jean supports the Rambler’s. While the use of Sister Jean’s identity did not cause any misappropriation of sensitive information, she probably doesn’t take her religious practice as a joke.
While the Twitter feed was lighthearted and entertaining, the harm done by Sister Jean’s impersonator is unknown. For now, it seems that Sister Jean has taken advantage of the added publicity sparked the account. She was given her own press conference during Loyola’s appearance at the Final Four.
Others, are not quite as fortunate as Sister Jean of Loyola.
Bullying has taken on new forms in the last decade. Now, bullies can take on the identity of
the victim via social media. Using impersonation, the bully is able to destroy the victim. The ideal deal result is for the victim to feel so helpless that they accept that the bully is in total control of the situation. Often, bullies try to manipulate the victim for further entertainment.
There are now thirty-eight states that have bullying laws banning "electronic harassment," and fourteen have laws that prohibit cyber-bullying, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center. Some states, like New Jersey, also have identity theft laws that have been used in cases involving fake social-media profiles, and California, New York, and Texas all have laws against cyber and digital impersonation.
Luckily for everyone involved, the only form of intimidation Shannon the Dude really has is his Kentucky Wildcats--and they did not intimidate anyone this season with their young team.
