Social media plays a big role in most of our lives. Apps on our phones such as Instagram and Twitter are often the first things we check when we wake up. Whether we’re bored on the bus, in the car, maybe in a lecture hall or simply just lounging on the couch, our phones constantly seem to be in our hands. Through social media anyone can express their opinion and these opinions can be seen almost instantaneously by people around the world. The benefits of social media can’t be denied, connecting with people across the world and gaining access to up to date news and information. However, many people choose to only focus on the good aspects and ignore the negative aspects of social media that unfortunately exist. This blog will discuss the impact social media has on professional athletes and their mental health.
For professional athletes’ social media can be beneficial, it allows the athlete to connect and engage with their fans. It can allow players to create a brand and the possibility to obtain sponsorship through the use of social media platforms. These platforms also allow sports fans to follow their team pages and get quick and factual updates about teams and their players. These constant interactions allow teams and players to build relationships with their fans. While social media sites can help these athletes in many ways these sites can also negatively affect athletes. Every criticism and bad comment made about an athlete on social media can be seen by many people around the world. These comments can have a negative impact on the athletes who read them.
Being a professional athlete brings enough pressure without the world commenting on your skills, abilities and personal appearance. During sporting events the commentators are talking through the events happening on the field. At times they will single out athletes for praise but also criticism. The commentators notice when an athlete is not in peak performance and they comment on it! Athletes already face a lot of pressure, without being criticised by fans on social media. Overtime all the negative comments will begin to affect the athlete, having them questioning are they good enough.
In an interview with The Players’ Tribune, Katelyn Ohashi a once Olympic hopeful recalls the damage caused by people expressing their opinion on her physical appearance and her skill level. Ohashi states that her fans would constantly make comments about her physical appearance and at one stage Ohashi was compared to “a bird who couldn’t fly”. She notes that her fans would also comment about her ability when she would fail at competitions. She became embarrassed about her body size and was always tracking what she ate. These comments and criticism after time began to affect Ohashi in a negative way, however she felt that she could never publish these issues she was facing.
Social media has a lot of benefits for everyone who uses it, however it also has negatives. People who constantly use these platforms need to be aware of what they say and how it can affect people. Often athletes are placed on a higher platform and many forget that athletes are normal people who can suffer from metal health issues. Being in the public eye many athletes feel they cannot open up about these issues they may be facing! It is evident that people who are constantly expressing their opinion on how athletes look, or on their performance can harm the athlete mentally! Athletes being body shamed can lead to them developing body image issues or even eating disorders. Social media platforms can greatly benefit athletes and help to grow their careers; however, it can hold a dark side and athletes can suffer mental health issues due to how the world perceives them.
Beyond Sport 