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SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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Policy approved: 07/06/22
Review Date: 07/06/23
Approved by: Phil Davis

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INTRODUCTION

 

Sports organisations, coaches and others involved in providing activities for children and young people are increasingly using social media, as well as their own websites, to promote sport and communicate with members.

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What online safety means for sport

Using websites and social media platforms to promote your sport or organisation can have great benefits, such as encouraging a team ethos, sharing information or news to participants, listening to the voices of children and young people and attracting new club members.

However, when young people set up profiles on websites and apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, they share a wealth of information about themselves. If things such as their name, photographs, social activities or hobbies and interests are publicly available, they can potentially be used by adults to identify individual children, gain their trust or groom them for abuse.

Organisations should make sure they use online platforms responsibly, by putting appropriate safeguards in place to protect children from potential risks whilst in their care or communicating with them online.

It’s essential that instructors, volunteers and students make informed decisions about how they use the internet, mobile phone and email communications to protect our club and our members.

 

Potential risks for young people

Online safety risks for young people can include, but are not limited to:

  • making themselves identifiable by posting personal details on social media such as the school they attend or their home address

  • communicating with people they don’t know, including potentially dangerous individuals

  • potential for inappropriate relationships between adults in positions of trust, or influence and the young people they work with

  • sexual grooming, luring, exploitation and abuse, or unwanted contact

  • exposure to inappropriate content, including pornography, racist or hate material or violent behaviour

  • being encouraged to create or share inappropriate or harmful material of themselves or others, including sexting (sexual images or video)

  • glorifying activities such as drug taking or excessive drinking

  • cyberbullying or berating by peers and people they consider ‘friends’ – in sport this can include negative comments or reactions about their performance or achievement

  • access to inaccurate and therefore potentially harmful information

  • encouragement to take part in violent behaviour or harmful trends

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA:

 

Everyone involved within Yu! MAC have the responsibility to safeguard both in and outside of the club when it comes to communications. The following guidance should be adhered to:

 

  • Refrain from publishing comments about other schools / clubs, athletes or referees and any controversial or potentially inflammatory subjects.

  • Every care should be taken to ensure that names and personal details are not attached to photographs or video and that consent has been given for children under 18 and vulnerable adults.

  • Avoid hostile or harassing communications in any posts or other online communications. Harassment is any offensive conduct based on a person`s race, sex, gender identity, national origin, colour, disability, age sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status, religion or any other status protected by law.

  • Instructors and members should identify all copyrighted or borrowed material with citations and links. When publishing direct paraphrased quotes, thoughts, ideas, photos or videos, give credit to the original publisher or author.

  • Yu! MAC will be responsible for reviewing responses to online posts and resolving any concerns before they are posted.

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An Offline version of this document can be found HERE

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