Impact of social media:- It has been discussed repeatedly how many social media influences our world. From communication, collaboration, entertainment to stalling and time-wasting, social media leaves its mark. Checking our Whatsapp, Facebook or Twitter account is the day’s first chore for most of the people today. Social Media has changed the way people interact with each other, express feelings, opinions. The population of social media users has increased dramatically over the past few years. Social media has profoundly affected the Sports industry. The world relates to more and more people than ever, which can be a positive or a negative thing.
These days every team and sports association have a social media profile on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram where they announce all important information. This ensures engagement and creates a relationship with the fans that had not been possible several years ago. The behaviour of a team or an athlete on Social Media influence a fan’s perception of that team or athlete. Every sports show or event has a hashtag for it, and it is displayed on the screen, during the event so that the audience can follow it diligently on the social media platform. The athletes can now communicate with their fans, announce their activities (related to personal or professional life), and even promote brands and make lots of money.
Positive Impact of Social Media:-
Compared with the conventional media, it nowadays costs minimal but affects more broadly, efficiently and more consistently. One post per day on the social media platform makes the athlete visible in their fan’s sights. Social media has done wonders for fans, giving us every second coverage of news of what’s going on while providing access for everyone to voice their opinions.
Social media brings the aspect of watching a game right to our fingertips. People all over the world can now watch a game at the luxury of their homes on their couch, going out with their friends to a sports bar or now with the added feature thanks to social media on their phones or computers while attending an important meeting as well. Athletes are able to stay connected with family and friends, interact with their fans by going live on Facebook.
This allows the spectators to feel part of the action since they wish to have a connection with their favourite athlete. this is where they feel they are being included and invited to a get glimpse of their favourite athlete’s personal or professional life. Getting a like, share or a reply on any of the social media platforms is the new excitement for fans. It’s a modern form of acknowledgement and recognition.
Negative Impact of Social Media:-
As we all know bad content spreads more quickly than ever before. Negative comments from fans could affect the performance of the athletes or the team. With the ever-growing updates posted by celebrity sportsmen, this makes them a vulnerable target for stalking. Sometimes athletes who go out of their way to do something in the heat of competition, forgetting that fans record it on their phone, and upload the same on the social media creating breaking news or a buzz about it.
Fans upload incidents and comment on social forum regardless of the consequence to the player or the team during the game. If an athlete is receiving positive feedback, their self-confidence is elevated. If they are receiving negative comments, their belief in their ability can be compromised. It means fans and those trolling social media sites have a minute power to influence the mental state of an athlete.
Affects On Sports Journalism
The radical change in social media usage over the past few years has had a major impact on all aspects of our lives and sports journalism is in no way an exception to it. There is no doubt that social media has dramatically changed the work for sports journalists too. Athletes today often cut journalists out of the equation by using social media more regularly and prominently like going on live chat sessions. Many athletes nowadays chose social media over media conferences or press releases as to avoid being under the direct scrutiny of the journalists.
Therefore, they are under no obligations to answer any hard questions put up by the journalists during such events. Moreover, now we are witnessing athletes using social media as a platform to raise awareness about social causes and philanthropic endeavours. This platform further is providing these celebrity sportsmen with opportunities to bypass the traditional media and communicate directly to the spectators. Social media, including blogs and video channels like YouTube, are changing the nature of sports reporting for journalists as well.
There is no doubt that Social media has made the sports world more engaging and informative. The rapid rise of social media as one big department across the nation are increasingly witnessing opportunities related to providing information to fans and the media, refining relationships with their favourite teams or sportsman.
Now for social media to have a positive effect on professional sports teams, the people in charge are hiring the right people with skills to run their social media accounts. These people also teach seminars to the players, so they know how the organization wants its members to conduct themselves when engaging with their fans on traditional or social media. On the business aspect of things, there are many benefits by bringing new fans or more fan following leading to more profits and interest.
If social media can be used for the right reasons, every sport has the potential to grow. In the end, it’s just a sport. Things can get tense and stressful many times, so it’s justified to use sports social media to lighten the mood a little bit. Silly content can lift spirits in the off-season. Sports can also be creative, there are a variety of artistic approaches and opportunities on all platforms to expand a team’s reach and connect with more fans. Using social media extends a relatively cheap and easy way to reach a larger audience.
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