Social media has become a big part of sports today. Many athletes use apps like Instagram, Tiktok, and X (Twitter), to talk with fans, and show parts of their everyday life. Social media can be helpful for athletes, but it can also cause problems for them.

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way social media helps athletes is by letting them directly connect with fans. Instead of only being seen during their games, athletes can share videos of them practicing, behind the scenes of their lives, and personal updates. This helps fans feel more connected to them. It can also help athletes get sponsorship deals because companies like working with athletes who have a lot of followers on social media.

At the same time, social media can hurt athletes. When athletes play badly or make a mistake, people online can be very harsh towards them. They might leave hate comments or criticize them a lot. Seeing those types of comments can affect an athletes confidence and mental health. Some athletes have even said they avoid reading comments because of the negativity. For example Boston Celtics Small forward/Power forward Jayson Tatum had this to say about hate comments on social media posts, “I try to read the comments. People are going to say whatever they want, good or bad, so I just try to stay focused on basketball”.

So overall, Social media has both a positive and negative effect on athletes. It gives them a way to grow their popularity and interact with their fans, but it can also make their cortisol higher and lower their confidence.