Social Media, LOL

[RoarLions1]

139 days, and counting, away from November 1, and the start of the 2017-18 collegiate wrestling season.

Cell phones, internet (thanks, Al Gore!!), twitter, facebook, instagram, snapchat, and gobs of other hardware, platforms, and tools for information, misinformation, opinions, discussion, and "feelings" sharing. The world we live in is certainly different than the one in which I grew up.

How has all this stuff change the landscape of college sports? From a fan standpoint, as a college freshman in '74, I'd go to a wrestling match, return to the dorm, and maybe grab a bite or go study. If I were a freshman today, I'd probably send/read a dozen messages (tweets, etc.), text friends, and go to BWI to post my thoughts, all before getting back to East Halls. It's the bigger picture I want to discuss though...so again...how has the landscape of college sports been affected?

 

[dunkej01]

Its weird cause the world is more open by the invent of social media but studies keep showing that people are actually becoming more closed off within this open world.

Sports like corp hiring is certainly impacted by this new world. Which is good, but bad too.

I met lamont wade last week. He was a gentleman and showed my son a lot of respect and interaction. But watching his twitter makes me think something else. His latest music video makes me cringe, but that video is not representative of the person i met. I will judge him by my personal interaction not his online personality.

Social media allows people to self identify. But it also allows lazy evaluators to cut bait very easily. I hate to have people not be able to self identify, but i sure will pound into my kids heads that they reap what they sow.

No easy answer.

 

[jtothemfp]

The two most important effects for me are:

1. Access.

Access to college sports info has 10x'd, or 100x'd, lots of x'd. Results are easier to find. Action is easier to watch. Comments from athletes & coaches are easier to read. 'Casual Fans' are now consuming info about sports they never consumed anything about before. There are a ton of PSU Sports fans who know so much more about Wrestling than they were even capable of in the 70s. So access, and reach, is a super cool evolution.

2. Society's Ability to Judiciously Consume Information

We're probably only in the first semester of our Sophomore year of the Information Age. The semantics of the words Information & News have drastically changed. Even the meaning of the word Fact has morphed. Just like with wrestling, society needs more practice. Practice consuming information. With so much more available, we just need more practice reading, hearing, watching, and then--the most important part--thinking! Critical Thinking is a skill just like an ankle pick.

The phrase 'consider the source' was a throwaway remark before the Information Age. Now, it's vitally important. Today society struggles to critically think about a single piece of content from entire outlets, because we've conditioned ourselves (or have been passively conditioned--through a dearth of critical thinking, lol) to disbelieve certain sources. Or whole info-carrying mediums! Some people won't even consume anything that comes from one info channel, like Twitter. Some don't consume any TV anymore. Huge swaths of society have abandoned Books altogether.

I think society is largely improving its ability to discern facts from opinions or commentary. Certainly improved from our Freshman year of the Info Age, but we still have a lot we can learn & continue to improve. I think we'll get better & better with practice.

 

[d-1980]

Scouting has certainly changed. The days of sending scouts armed with video cameras are pretty much non existent. A quick google search often yields multiple complete match videos from prior events, and many can be watched live via a free or paid subscription and recorded for later reviews. This is true not just for wrestling, but for many college sports.

 

[anon_bmgiwwa819jyc]

 

[raslen007]

It will never be less tomorrow than it is today.

 

[RoarLions1]

Recruiting
The NCAA added language under the Recruiting section (13, in the big, bad NCAA Rulebook ) starting, I believe, in the early 2000's. Allowances for Electronic Correspondence, texting, etc. Last August, 2016, a new rule allowing Likes and Retweets, from coaches was passed. Point is...social media changed the recruiting landscape.

Just one area, of many,