How to manage the puzzling pressures of social media in sport
The rate in which social media is changing competitive athletics is moving at a faster pace than those in the sport world – athletes, coaches, officials, and parents – know how to handle. Quickly athletics has earned the respect most thought only a high-level education could do -- gone are the days when a varsity uniform rears the title “dumb jock.” However, with this respect, has come a heavy cognitive load.
Success in sport, before social media existed, used to consist of standing on the podium, a few pictures and possibly a press conference. You would go home or to your hotel room to silence: no pings, alerts, or unsolicited posts. At most, an unwanted morning newspaper headline would be placed on your doorstep, that could be easily ignored by tossing it in the trash. Today, post-game looks much different. The increasing level of play calls for an athlete to be in-tune not only during the game, but off “court” as well. One also needs more than a physically sound and coordinated body -- lasting in sport beyond the intermediate stages, requires athletes to be levelheaded and quite thick skinned, including the ability to appropriately respond to the public and the hidden stronghold of social media.
Recent situations with several top tier athletes have depicted how high-level wins (or losses) often include a chain of ridiculing words to manage —some comments so destructive, that overtime many would struggle to ignore.
Showing up game after game, amidst these destructive comments, may seem too tough for many, but it is doable. It requires a unique form of coaching involving both the psycho and social aspects of sport, teaching one to tease apart the media fortress and put it into perspective rather than letting it consume one’s psyche. Even though handling overall pressures in sport has become complex, the following tips are a good place to start:
Recognize that social media does not count as your social time
Treat the time you spend posting on your game or status of play as work, and not as recovery. This point is not to suck the fun from social media, but to drive home the fact social media cannot take the place of true time with family or friends [nor any other necessary recovery time that is free from discussing your sport, training, or performances].
Schedule your time away from media with live interaction
One of the best ways for an athlete to recover is social interaction. Yet with a busy training schedule, it may be a challenge to find the energy to be sociable. To help ensure the time is restoring and not draining, plan for ample time at the end of the day with a group that will appreciate a laid back and relaxing environment. The goal is to build a habit to hang with others under the same recovery mindset instead of picking up your phone and stressing about your likes. Scheduling at first will take extra effort, but eventually social relaxation time will become a no-brainer.
Role play your responses to both challenges and wins
Regardless of the outcome of a game or competition, it is important to know how to post/respond optimistically. We like to use these prompts as a template, but feel free to create your own:
What is/was my overall/current goal?
What went well?
What do I need to work on next time?
When will I start?
What is my process?
Keep your sport the purpose
It is easy to become distracted by social media. Whether it be from people’s comments or the need to keep up with informing and posting, social media can become the mediator of your actions. This is the opposite of what you want to happen. To combat this reality, keep it simple — value your goals. If you are focused on doing your sport to the best of your ability and giving your best effort every day, then everything else will fall into place.
Know your cognitive-capacity and your resources
Remember social media is a choice. No one can make you famous unless you choose to be. With that said, it is up to you to manage how much you can handle. To maintain a healthy mindset when it comes to managing personal wellness, a good support system is a must. Ask yourself, who is on the roster of my support system? Then, list them under the following categories:
Family
Friends
Coaches
Trainers
Therapists
Specialists
Choose your support system wisely – a chain is only as strong as its weakest link – so do not put up with much negativity. Make an effort to surround yourself with a village of others that not only support you, but make you feel inclined and motivated to do the same for them. With a strong support system, the negative comments that can come with social media and the pressures of high-level athletics, will be mute in comparison to your positive inner voice.
