College Athletes and Twitter: Exploring Trash Talking and Competitive Gratifications Online

A pilot study of 111 Division III student-athletes explores online interactions wherein members of this group engage in or observe inappropriate, unsportsmanlike, and trash talking exchanges on Twitter. Among the findings, student-athletes acknowledge observing athletic peers post and respond to inappropriate content, and post and respond to unsportsmanlike conduct on Twitter. Further, this study reveals that female student-athletes were more likely to observe their peers engaging in inappropriate behaviors on Twitter than their male counterparts, while the male participants reported engaging in inappropriate behaviors themselves more often than their female peers. The results of this survey may appeal to audiences of scholars and athletic practitioners alike, as it produces information that may prove helpful in formulating guidelines and programming to support responsible social media use by collegiate student-athletes.