Using Communication Boundaries to Minimize Athlete Social Media Distractions During Events
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Filo, Kevin
Riot, Caroline
Geurin, Andrea N
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Abstract
Sport organizations regulate athletes' use of social media for many reasons including the protection of the organization's reputation. Several strategies have been introduced to minimize issues related to the negative consequences athlete social media use may present, yet whether these strategies also work to address social media distractions experienced by athletes during major sport events is not well known. Utilizing communication privacy management (CPM) theory, the purpose of the current research was to examine the aspects of social media that sport administrators perceive to be distracting to athletes and what support and management mechanisms are utilized to address such concerns during major sport events. Semistructured interviews ( N = 7) with Australian national sport organization (NSO) administrators were conducted. Sport administrators reported several aspects of social media that are perceived to distract athletes including personal and performance criticism and a fixation with social media profiles. Social media could also be used to manage athlete temperament. As a result, organizations highlighted both proactive and reactive communication boundaries and mechanisms that could be used to address concerns including content restrictions, best practice case studies, engaging in conversations, and monitoring. Opportunities for sport practitioners are described including conducting consultation sessions with athletes to better understand their needs regarding their social media use.
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Event Management
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25
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6
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© 2021 Cognizant Communication Corporation. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
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Sport and leisure management
Commercial services
Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
Tourism
Social Sciences
Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism
Social Sciences - Other Topics
Major sport events
National sport organizations
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Hayes, M; Filo, K; Riot, C; Geurin, AN, Using Communication Boundaries to Minimize Athlete Social Media Distractions During Events, Event Management, 2021, 25 (6), pp. 683-704