By Amy Nickerson

It seems like everyone is doing it – tweeting every thought that comes to mind and posting comments and photos on Facebook, Snap Chat, Instagram, You Tube and every other popular form of social media for all of the world to see. 

Sports teams even encourage the use of social media to help provide frequent updates on game scores, college recruits, players’ injuries and a host of other items that they want publicized. It’s the new way to inform, educate, update, and sometimes even to aggravate and agitate. Without question, it is just how we communicate these days.

However, these popular forms of communication come with some risks.  The tendency to put too much personal or inappropriate information “out there” is fairly high.

So what’s really at stake?

For one--extremely sensitive and personal information becomes fully exposed. On top of that, personal opinions that are shared may not necessarily serve student-athletes well by releasing them to the public. Today’s student-athletes need to be reminded that sometimes airing out grievances, complaints or criticisms publicly can stir up a lot of trouble.

Telling everyone in cyberspace that you don’t agree with your coach’s decision to go for it rather than just kicking the field goal?   Not smart.

Posting photos of you and your football buddies at a party the night before a game when you were supposed to be asleep?  Bad idea. 

In some instances, teams must contend with players giving away “secrets” via social media, such as revealing the locations of undisclosed practices or lodging, for example. That can be a major problem.

In other instances, student-athletes can be oblivious to all of the warnings about social media and end up suffering the consequences.  For example, they may boast on social networking sites about questionable parties they attended only to later realize that their boasts have landed them in a load of trouble. 

All young people, but particularly student-athletes, must realize that they run the risk of creating controversy once they decide to make public their every move, every thought, every wish, every grievance, every regret.  While using social media certainly has many advantages, there are still a plethora of reasons for student-athletes in the public eye (or who aspire to be in the public eye) to practice discretion when engaging in social media usage. 

The truth is that we live in an age where everyone is watching, reading and listening to everything you put “out there.”  And it just so happens that many of those people watching and reading all of the information swirling in cyberspace are reporters, coaches and athletic administrators (not to mention college admissions officers and other individuals interested in checking for character flaws or potential trouble).  With so many people able to take a sneak peak into the lives of student-athletes, it is imperative that their online footprints remain squeaky clean.

This is also why it is imperative that parents of student-athletes provide proper guidance in this arena and teach their kids to be responsible users of social media. Student-athletes must be reminded that their posts last FOREVER and that they really need to think about what they allow others to be able to find out about them. Student-athletes should always ask themselves before posting comments or information – is this information necessary?  Is it helpful? Could it be controversial?  Instead of acting impulsively, they should always give some thought to the consequential effects of their tweets and other posts. 

Finally, my best advice for today’s student-athletes is to assume that everyone is reading everything and to act accordingly.  Be mindful.  Be smart. Realize that your thoughts and photos are not as private as you might hope, and understand the ramifications of posting certain opinions or declarations on social media. Don’t let your hashtags become red flags!

Until next time,

Your All-Pro Team Mom