Abstract
Social media and electronic communication perpetuate adolescents’ lives and have the potential to shape the nature of adolescent athletes’ experiences and interactions with members of their sports teams. However, there is no research to date that has examined adolescent female athletes’ use of social media and electronic communication. Athletes, parents, and coaches (N = 22) from one soccer organization participated in semistructured interviews discussing their use of and perspectives on social media and electronic communication. Interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings include four themes: (a) uses of social media and electronic communication (in and out of the sport context); (b) athlete, parent, and coaches’ perspectives of social media engagement; (c) friendships and trust with teammates; and (d) the development and perception of subgroups. Recommendations include developing policies for the use of social media and electronic communication for adolescents in sports settings and for coaches, parents, and athletes to engage in open communication about the uses of social media and electronic communication.
Highlights
Social media and electronic communication perpetuate adolescents’ lives and have the potential to shape the nature of adolescent athletes’ experiences and interactions with members of their sports teams
Athletes were contacted via the email and asked to estimate how much time they spent on social media each day
Given that female adolescent athletes in Canada may drop out of sport due to interpersonal challenges such as not feeling welcome on their team (Canadian Women and Sport, 2020), the current findings indicate that social media and electronic communication could be used to build trust and relationships among teammates that could, in turn, lead to continued participation (Ullrich-French & Smith, 2009)
Summary
Social media and electronic communication perpetuate adolescents’ lives and have the potential to shape the nature of adolescent athletes’ experiences and interactions with members of their sports teams. Findings include four themes: (a) uses of social media and electronic communication (in and out of the sport context); (b) athlete, parent, and coaches’ perspectives of social media engagement; (c) friendships and trust with teammates; and (d) the development and perception of subgroups. Female adolescents’ sport participation is associated with several benefits such as higher self-esteem and perceived physical competence, positive body image, and greater psychological well-being (e.g., Eime et al, 2013). Among male and female adolescent athletes, Bruner and colleagues (2017) found that those who reported a greater sense of similarity and bonding with teammates perceived greater physical and social skill development (e.g., working with others and providing/receiving feedback), while more positive peer relationships are associated with greater enjoyment in sport and desire to continue participation (Ullrich-French & Smith, 2009). Given that female adolescents are more likely to exit sports due to feeling unwelcome by teammates, lacking a sense of belonging, or bullying (Canadian Women and Sport, 2020), there is a need to consider how the social dynamics of teams in which adolescent females participate impact their sports experiences and development
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