Pro
By Eli Rosen / Staff Reporter
In recent years, Barstool accounts have gained national popularity because of the intense competition they create between schools. This social media strategy has created a large and supportive audience for schools.
According to Forbes Magazine, Barstool Sports started as an American blog website and digital media company that publishes sports journalism and pop culture related content.
Barstool has advanced into a very successful company with many schools starting their own Barstool accounts, which create loyal fan bases and strengthen camaraderie among students.
For high school athletics, Barstool accounts are very effective: they create an atmosphere which fosters school spirit among students, they create competition among their opponents and add entertainment by making it easier to promote events on social media.
When these accounts are responsibly managed by schools, they contribute to a more connected and engaged student body. It provides a platform for students to celebrate and enjoy their school’s accomplishments in a genuine and fun way.
Over time, these accounts can become a central part of a school’s identity, leaving a huge impact on student culture.
The competitive rivalries are intensified as each school can rally behind their teams not only in person but also digitally.
Barstool accounts create a unique competition among different schools. Every account that is school-related is usually based on social media, which receives a lot of attention from both the students and faculty.
One of the high school Barstool’s main focuses for each of their school accounts is to provide a great sense of entertainment. However, some people may argue Barstool accounts allow for cyberbullying and promote the wrong ideas.
Although this may be true in some cases, many schools make an active effort to monitor the account and oversee the content they publish to prevent harmful posts.
As a result, the accounts foster a fun and competitive nature, which draws attention and support to their respective teams.
From the very humorous content posted on the different accounts, students have a source of personal amusement while scrolling on social media.
The accounts can create an environment in which students can relate to each other through shared experiences or the struggles that school brings.
Overall, Barstool accounts have generated a very competitive and energetic atmosphere, allowing students to become more connected with one another.
Con
By Harper Dresbach / Staff Reporter
Barstool accounts have become increasingly popular with the rise of social media. From “Almost Friday” to “Almost gameday,” trends are posted by students from schools across the country. While Barstool Instagram accounts can be a lighthearted way to support a team, they can cross the line into bullying, become a distraction from the sports itself and hurt people who are included in posts.
A local high school’s Barstool account posted a video of a teen’s face pasted over a video of a man running with a hot dog. The video was captioned to make fun of the student’s dietary choices and call them overweight.
This type of post crosses the line from comical entertainment into cyberbullying, and there is never a reason to make fun of a student’s physical appearance.
Another local high school’s Barstool account posted a photo of a cartoon stick-like creature with a caption calling out a player by their jersey number. In the same post, there was another photo of someone else eating candy, calling them out in a similar way.
All of these posts go past the point of fun jokes and are completely inappropriate, especially when dealing with minors.
Cyberbullying has continued to have a major impact on teens. According to the National Library of Medicine, victims of cyberbullying are more likely to have depression and anxiety or commit suicide.
Additionally, these posts are often compiled by followers of the account sending in content, which means they may be posted without the consent of whomever is in the photo or video. This adds to the potential humiliation and betrayal one may feel as a result.
The effect of the photo being taken and posted may negatively impact someone’s future. If the photo taken showed someone partying, doing something unprofessional or illegal, a boss may find it and choose not to hire them, or fire them.
Barstool accounts also take away from the game itself; instead, it puts the focus on simply hating on the other team and their players. Sports should be about having a friendly competition and not about bullying opposite players.
Along with the stress of playing in the games and fulfilling their athletic responsibilities, players now have the additional stress of being embarrassed on social media if they lose the game or perform poorly.
Barstool accounts can be a fun way to build school morale, but they often become a place of hatred and bullying, taking away from the joy that playing sports can bring people.
