Introduction 

In 1971, astronauts Alan Shephard and Edgar Mitchell made history when they became the first individuals to engage in sports on the moon. The Apollo 14 astronauts participated in what was called the “First Lunar Olympics.” Shephard hit a golf ball while Mitchell threw a javelin, which was one of their experimental apparatuses. Whether it be on the moon or in water, 3000 years ago or in the 21st century, athletic endeavours are signs of passion, sources of amusement, and extraordinary feats. As a collective representation of coordinated efforts, sports have been one of the largest forms of entertainment. Tracing back to 776 B.C., the first Olympic games in ancient Greece, to the 21st century, sports have evolved incontrovertibly, mainly due to demographic growth. With these changes, however, come new additions; one of the largest being social media. Sports viewers have grown immensely with the expansion of social platforms. A survey conducted by Capgemini in December 2019 indicated that 67 percent of the respondents watched sports content through social media. Leading platforms such as Instagram and Twitter have millions of users who can access sports highlights effortlessly. With a large number of sports fan bases created on social media, athletes rely largely on their consumption for publicity. Although the use of social media in sports entertainment is considered to be an asset, its evident downsides are important to consider given the ongoing debate about underperforming or excelling under extreme pressurized circumstances. 

Psychological Benefits of Sport 

Improving cognitive and metabolic performance, sports benefit athletes psychologically. As discussed in “Psychological Benefits of Sport” from the British Journal of Education, competitive physical activity prevents mood disorders, strengthens the immune system, and modifies the discomfort threshold in athletes. Sports significantly assuage common mood disorders such as depression. Combatting these disorders, sports allow athletes to remain physically and mentally healthy. 

A key aspect of good health is a strong discomfort threshold, provided to athletes through sports. Athletes can endure more pain, therefore diminishing their fear of injury, boosting recovery and raising confidence. The results of a questionnaire provided to sport center trainees showed that 100 percent of the participants believed sports to reduce stress and benefit athletes’ immune systems. Additionally, 85 percent of the participants deemed sports to improve their 

Social Media Uses in Sports 

The number of sports viewers has grown tremendously as they have become more accessible with the help of social media platforms. Social media is considered an essential tool for sports fans to interact and share sport-related information with other individuals and engage in two-way communication with sports organizations. Instagram and Twitter are two of the most popular social media platforms for sports communication. During the 2016 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, researchers and sports analysts concluded that 26 million people interacted 186 million times with series-related content on Instagram. Additionally, 500 million people use Instagram every month, of which 165 million are sports fans who follow on average 8 well-known sports accounts. In fact, the most followed individual on Instagram is currently Cristiano Ronaldo - a football player. Along with Instagram, Twitter has also established itself as a platform for sports communication. Twitter is the leading platform for the National Football League (NFL) Draft content, generating 171 million monthly views. It was also the leading platform for the announcement of “The Last Dance”, a documentary about American basketball player Michael Jordan which received 5.9 million views, 4 million more than the second-place platform. 

Because the Covid-19 pandemic affected the sports industry by cancelling games, there was an absence of content for social media pages to post. Relative post interactions significantly decreased: at the end of April 2020, Instagram’s relative interactions hit their lowest point in the last 2 years, whereas Facebook’s relative interactions were at their lowest since March 2020. However, sport organizations started engaging with their fans through various virtual means. Liverpool Football Club gave their supporters the unique experience to virtually join the team’s virtual yoga session. NBA teams and athletes took an active stance in the Black Lives Matter protests. They used Instagram to host multiple live panel discussions and post powerful quotes from athletes, further sharing their perspectives on the issues. Thus, social media continues to serve as an essential tool for fans to engage with the sports industry. 

The Social Criticism and Pressure in Sports 

Through broadcasts and highlights, fanbases and critics increase in number, and with this growing publicity comes a surge of implied negative criticism. When participating in sports, strenuous physical activity is not all that is required of athletes. As outlined in “Body Image: A Paradox For Female Athletes”, frequent public scrutiny for appearance pressures them to preserve their bodies at the peak of strength and agility.  Society requires athletes “to be fit, but not too fit [decided by] the people they surround themselves with, the people admiring them, the people criticizing them… never [allowing them] to be on the deciding end.” Abiding by these unspoken rules about their body is the gateway to sponsorships and deals. These biases are seen in professional atheletes’ salaries as well. Serena Williams is paid less than Maria Sharapova due to her muscular appearance despite her skillfulness in the sport. With growing criticism on social platforms, athletes require “a mix of skill in their sport and a promising physical appearance.” Such standards are difficult to achieve, degrading athletes’ athleticism and venerating their looks. Though professional athletes are more likely to be publicly targeted, such unachievable standards are also found in lower-level athletics.

Although all sexes face such bodily criticism, females are found to be at most risk. With extreme sexualization in the industry, critics immediately find imperfections in their appearances. Female sports are often mocked, yet remain extremely sexualized or objectified, slut-shaming confident women for unjustified reasons. Moreover, female athletes face limitations with their strength as the muscularity in their figures is often derided. They must be strong enough to excel at their sport, yet their biceps or abdominals cannot be too prominent. Similarly, male athletes also face such pressure in other forms. In addition to plausible sexualization, they are “expected to be bigger and stronger.”  When they do not fit society’s criteria of a fit, masculine athlete, their height, as well as their muscle mass, is emphasized. Steroid usage has significantly increased in male athletes due to this scrutiny. 

Athletes also face racial discrimination in their field. Although there are many racially diverse sports, white supremacy dominates major social media platforms. During the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl, the Associated Press surveyed 56 football players of black origin to find that 100% of them had faced or come in contact with someone else being racially profiled.  Malik Jackson, a defensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns, stated that “African American men have been [victims] of racial profiling for a long time, by either the things they wear or just by the color of their skin.” Consequently, ignorant social media users often make such demeaning comments based on athletes’ ethnic appearance, potentially destroying their morale. 

It seems no amount of fame and skill can protect athletes from this societal aversion, as tennis champion Serena Williams has been subjected to it herself. “The Meaning of Serena Williams” from The New York Times Magazine explains her story and how she faces constant discrimination in her industry. For her, “there is an unspoken script that demands the humble absorption of racist assaults, no matter the scale, because [others] need to believe that it’s no big deal.” She combats not only sexism but racism as well, despite having earned numerous awards and the respect of a global fanbase. Her example further indicates the vulnerability of athletes on social platforms. Such social pressure can take dangerous tolls on their mental health and overall wellbeing as seen when she was racially targeted at the U.S. Open women’s final. Additionally, pressure has dangerous effects on careers and decision-making, holding the power to derail an individual’s career. 

Potential Benefits of Social Criticism 

However, social media criticism can also be seen as an asset to athletes. Many sports fans are aware of the term created by the media that some athletes are “clutch” performers who perform better under pressure. More importantly, the majority of these athletes are able to use negative social media criticism to their advantage and boost their performance. Stephen Curry, a 3-time NBA Champion, is noted to check his social media mentions on Twitter for motivation at halftime when he is having a bad game. During an interview, one of his teammates explained his reason behind doing this using an analogy, “it’s like dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke, shaking it up, then using that mental pressure to explode for 30 or 40 second-half points.” This makes Stephen Curry one of the most “clutch” performers and one of the greatest to ever play the game. From this, it can be seen that some athletes are able to exceed with the help of pressure from social media. 

Unfulfilled Benefits of Sports in the Present-day 

Despite the advantages to the heavy presence of social media in the sporting industry, the disadvantages tip the scale in their favour. In addition to the extreme social pressure created by present-day sports, there are many other hindrances to achieving its benefits. With ongoing attention-starvation resulting in excessive competition and the internalized and externalized disputes existent only on social platforms, critics claim that social media is ruining sports. Athletes tend to go to large extents amid competition to gain popularity and grow their social media fanbases. Furthermore, athletes are publicly in conflict with one another as well as other sports fans due to the ease of interaction provided by social media. Fast-spreading news and overexposure to social media remove the element of surprise that many sports viewers yearn for, often leading to unnecessary criticism. In the midst of these consequences, social media may 

have been advantageous to the entertainment factor of sports, however, the psychological and social benefits of sports remain unfulfilled. 

The Social Cognitive Theory, developed from the psychological studies of Albert Bandura, describes the “influence of individual experiences, the actions of others, and environmental factors on individual health behaviours.” With the constantly changing sports industry being faced with excessive social media representation, not only is the mental health of athletes affected, but their behaviours are likely to change. The behaviour of athletes is a key aspect of their performance and poor performance can lower their self-esteem, which is the opposite of what athletes should achieve through sports. 

Conclusion 

In order to combat social media’s negative implications, athletes have found ways to dismantle the pressure that comes with it and achieve the benefits of sport. Successful athletes have learned to build self-confidence and eliminate self-doubt. When athletes are trained to play their sport, they must also be trained to face the criticism and pressure of social media and build this confidence, so that they are not performing poorly.

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