Technology has been responsible for many advances in modern sport, helping us share, learn and communicate more effectively. Use of social media platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter has led a range of benefits for sport and recreation clubs, but with that has come inevitable issues.
Two common issues in sport include:
- Cyberbullying - the use of digital technology to threaten, menace, harass, and humiliate an individual or group. In sport, cyberbullying may look like online racism, targeted threats, intimidation to team members and opposition players, coaches and teams, defaming of referees, coaches, management, or unsubstantiated claims of drug-taking or favouritism. Cyberbullying is a very real problem, and there is a need to explicitly educate players on the dangers of both online abuse and acting appropriately online. Where issues arise and a young person under 18 years is the target, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner can help. The Office works closely with social media partners to remove serious cyberbullying from the internet.
- Image-based abuse - known colloquially as ‘revenge porn’ or the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, is another harmful online activity which can affect sporting clubs and their members. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner will provide assistance to individuals who have been subjected to image-based abuse.
The Office of the eSafety Commissioner provides good overview of all common social media issues, including:
- cyberbullying
- image based abuse
- cyber abuse
- offensive or illegal content
- sexting
- unwanted contact
- social engineering
- social networking.
Latest social media sites and apps
Part of understanding social media issues is being familiar with social media itself. This can be tricky, given the rapidly changing and ever evolving online world. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner provides a great guide to all the popular social media sites and apps.
The law
When it comes to the online world and social media, laws can apply. Read more on the Office of the eSafety Commission website.
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