This news surprised me -- according to Bob Sullivan at MSNBC's The Red Tape Chronicles, some college athletic programs are requiring student athletes to "friend" their coaches so that the schools can monitor the students' social media postings (read the article: State agencies, colleges demand applicants' Facebook passwords). The article lists the University of North Carolina as one such place with this type of policy.
I wrote in an earlier post that 100% of colleges use social media in some way or another, but in most cases the use isn't intrusive. Facebook and Twitter are great tools for communicating with students, promoting college events, and connecting newly admitted students with one another. On the college admissions front, the decision to friend a college has always been entirely up to the student.
I'm curious to see if these new social media policies by athletic programs are around for long. As Sullivan's article notes, colleges are taking on all kinds of liabilities if they position themselves as monitors of student Facebook accounts. There are many other problematic issues related to a student's right to privacy and free speech, and the practices are likely a violation of Facebook's terms of use.
What are your thoughts? Are athletic programs going too far when they try to monitor the Facebook accounts of their athletes? Share your opinions below.
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