Social Media Usage Among Elite Athletes: An exploration of athlete usage during major events

Abstract

Social media platforms have proliferated the sport industry. Social media is constantly evolving, with platforms being adopted by many sport stakeholders including sport governing bodies, leagues, teams, sporting events, fans, coaches, managers, and athletes. For athletes, social media have provided new avenues to share personal and professional news, manage their personal image and brand, and develop deeper interactions with fans. However, since the rise of social media, sport stakeholders have debated the extent of athlete social media use at major sport events. The purpose of this research was threefold: (1) to investigate why athletes use social media, the gratifications they receive, and the challenges they experience during a major sport event, (2) explore the elements of social media athletes perceive to be distracting, the practices they undertake to address distractions, and the support they receive from sport organisations, and (3) to examine how national sport organisations manage athlete social media use and their perceptions of social media as a distraction. To better understand athlete social media use during major sport events, three studies were conducted sequentially. Each study gathered qualitative data, allowing the researcher to delve deeper into the perceptions of athletes and sport administrators.