Universities Monitor Athletes’ Use of Social Networking Sites
Student athletes at universities around the U.S. will think twice before posting questionable material to their Facebook and MySpace accounts. 
Many universities are monitoring their athletes’ use of social networking sites.
At the University of Iowa, for instance, student leaders monitor the profiles for members of their team. Other schools allow administrators or coaches to monitor sites.
Why the need to monitor?
Because students are students; some of them post pictures of themselves and their teammates drinking, they put down their coaches and/or programs, and they gossip about their teammates.
Social networking is huge among the college-age crowd, but some students haven’t learned to put appropriate boundaries around what they post online. Failing to realize the long-term ramifications of posting potentially damaging material to a public forum, they publish anything and everything.
To lessen the possibility of students living to regret a momentary lapse in judgment, university administrators are stepping in, taking a more active role in monitoring content that could damage not only the students, but the university’s image (and thus recruiting, and thus, a winning season, and thus, more cash donations from happy alumni…you get the picture).
Is it censorship?
Some students cry “CENSORSHIP” at these monitoring policies. I’m a former journalism instructor and a proponent of freedom of the press, but I don’t view these monitoring policies as censorship. Rather, I agree with North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour, who says:
“What people do now affects their lives forever, and what they do affects us, so we want to make sure that’s done in the right way.”
Social networking policies protect athletes from themselves.
What do you think?
Source:
“Schools make rules for social networking,” by Kyle Oppenhuizen, USA TODAY, July 28, 2008
I think it’s necessary…as long as the monitoring is done correctly. College is all about growing up and becoming an adult. Showing them the error of their ways is a growth tool.
Besides, how are the coaches going to “ban” the students FB page? Now that would be censorship, but I don’t think it’s possible.
Anybody can look at any FaceBook page, depending on the privacy settings put in place by the owner. So “monitoring” is just keeping an eye on things, not censorship.
I think it’s necessary…as long as the monitoring is done correctly. College is all about growing up and becoming an adult. Showing them the error of their ways is a growth tool.
Besides, how are the coaches going to “ban” the students FB page? Now that would be censorship, but I don’t think it’s possible.
Anybody can look at any FaceBook page, depending on the privacy settings put in place by the owner. So “monitoring” is just keeping an eye on things, not censorship.
I think it’s necessary…as long as the monitoring is done correctly. College is all about growing up and becoming an adult. Showing them the error of their ways is a growth tool.
Besides, how are the coaches going to “ban” the students FB page? Now that would be censorship, but I don’t think it’s possible.
Anybody can look at any FaceBook page, depending on the privacy settings put in place by the owner. So “monitoring” is just keeping an eye on things, not censorship.
I think it’s necessary…as long as the monitoring is done correctly. College is all about growing up and becoming an adult. Showing them the error of their ways is a growth tool.
Besides, how are the coaches going to “ban” the students FB page? Now that would be censorship, but I don’t think it’s possible.
Anybody can look at any FaceBook page, depending on the privacy settings put in place by the owner. So “monitoring” is just keeping an eye on things, not censorship.
I think it’s necessary…as long as the monitoring is done correctly. College is all about growing up and becoming an adult. Showing them the error of their ways is a growth tool.
Besides, how are the coaches going to “ban” the students FB page? Now that would be censorship, but I don’t think it’s possible.
Anybody can look at any FaceBook page, depending on the privacy settings put in place by the owner. So “monitoring” is just keeping an eye on things, not censorship.
I think it’s necessary…as long as the monitoring is done correctly. College is all about growing up and becoming an adult. Showing them the error of their ways is a growth tool.
Besides, how are the coaches going to “ban” the students FB page? Now that would be censorship, but I don’t think it’s possible.
Anybody can look at any FaceBook page, depending on the privacy settings put in place by the owner. So “monitoring” is just keeping an eye on things, not censorship.