FanShot

Does modern technology affect team bonding and communication?

21

As a fan, I love that technology has given us insights into athletes' lives. With Twitter and Facebook, we're no longer dependent on the traditional media to hear their words, and we can communicate directly with the players. But there's a flip side to modern technology. From SI.com: ----------------------- "Ask many coaches, general managers and older players and you'll hear a common gripe: chemistry on teams has been altered because of modern technology, and not for the better. The rise of smartphones, with all their instant-communication and entertainment options, have created insular worlds into which distracted players too often retreat instead of bonding with teammates." and "Coaches and managers are particularly frustrated at the paradox of players fraternizing less with their own teammates, and more with the "enemy." Players from opposing teams, they say, too often get each other's cellphone numbers and start calling or texting back and forth, often griping about playing time and occassionally [sic] giving up little secrets about their teams." ----------------------- Thoughts?