{"id":950,"date":"2025-11-17T07:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T06:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.aumental.be\/reseaux-sociaux-sport-et-les-jeunes-athletes\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T22:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:11:18","slug":"reseaux-sociaux-sport-et-les-jeunes-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aumental.be\/en\/reseaux-sociaux-sport-et-les-jeunes-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the impact of social media on young athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world where digital interactions are an integral part of daily life, social media and social relationships have a profound influence on the construction of identity, motivation and self-confidence in athletes. For the youngest athletes, these environments can act as levers for personal development or, on the contrary, as sources of psychological vulnerability (Smith & Sanderson, 2015).
This article sets out to decode how social and digital relationships shape a sporting path, while identifying strategies to make them an ally rather than a risk.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The athlete's social environment: a key factor in development<\/h3>\n

Peers, whether friends, teammates or classmates, play a decisive role in sporting socialisation. Positive interactions strengthen the sense of belonging and intrinsic motivation, encouraging lasting commitment to the sport (Allen, 2003). On the other hand, social dynamics marked by internal competition, social comparison or fear of judgement can generate stress and lower confidence (Keegan et al., 2009) and ultimately affect performance. The quality of the social climate (support, recognition, cooperation) therefore directly influences the young athlete's psychological satisfaction and resilience in the face of the challenges of high-level sport (Jowett & Lavallee, 2007). <\/p>\n

If this topic interests you, a full article has been published on the relationship between the coach, the athlete and the parents, and how this trio influences the young athlete's motivation, confidence and well-being. It explores everyone's roles, common sources of tension and the keys to establishing healthy communication around the athlete. To understand how this relational balance directly affects the young person's progress and fulfilment, you can read the article here.<\/mark><\/a><\/p>\n

Social media: an amplified mirror of performance<\/h3>\n

Social networks such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or Snapchat have become spaces of visibility and expression for young athletes. They allow them to share successes, find inspiring role models and maintain a public sporting identity (L\u00f3pez-Fern\u00e1ndez et al., 2022). However, this exposure comes with psychological risks: constant comparison with other athletes, attention to body image and the search for social validation can weaken self-esteem (Perloff, 2014).<\/p>\n

Many studies in social psychology show that upward comparison, i.e. comparing yourself to someone who performs better, can be motivating when it is seen as a source of inspiration, but demotivating when it generates a feeling of inferiority (Festinger, 1954; Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016). More recent models of social comparison, notably the identification-contrast model (Buunk & Ybema, 1997), show that the effect of these comparisons depends on how much you identify with the target: an upward comparison is only beneficial if the individual can identify with the better-performing person. So when the target is seen as similar or accessible, the comparison encourages assimilation, strengthens inspiration and can support self-efficacy. Conversely, when the target is seen as too distant or unattainable, the comparison produces a contrast effect and can affect confidence. <\/p>\n

To sum up, upward comparison is only truly motivating if the individual perceives some similarity or closeness with the reference person, allowing them to see an attainable model rather than a threat to their sense of competence.<\/p>\n

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When social media scatters our attention<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Social media also encourages distraction and cognitive overload, because it constantly demands our attention through notifications, very short videos, changing content and instant rewards. This constant stimulation fragments attention and can lead to what some researchers call \u201cattention fragmentation\u201d, a scattering of attention that, over the long term, mimics some symptoms of ADD without constituting a neurodevelopmental disorder. When attention is constantly interrupted, the brain gets used to working in \u201cfragmented vigilance\u201d mode, which makes it harder to concentrate on long, complex or monotonous tasks (Wegera et al., 2023).<\/p>\n

Attention fragmentation creates a form of unchosen multitasking: the person jumps from one stimulus to the next without real control (scrolling), which increases cognitive load. In the long term, this can lead to difficulty maintaining attention in class, at work or in sport, careless mistakes, high impatience and difficulty tolerating periods of silence or boredom. In cognitive psychology, we know that rapidly switching between tasks places heavy demands on executive resources and tires attentional circuits (Wegera et al., 2023).<\/p>\n

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When everything is trying to capture our attention, our ability to keep it becomes our greatest strength.<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n

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Consuming images of idealised performance and constant comparisons with unattainable role models also increase FOMO (fear of missing out), which disrupts the ability to switch off mentally. The study by Przybylski et al. (2013) showed that FOMO increases distractibility, impulsivity and the need to check one's phone, reinforcing the dependence loop. The more a person fears missing a notification, a message or a social event, the more likely they are to switch activities quickly, at the expense of sustained attention.<\/p>\n

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The brain is not made for hundreds of micro-stimulations per hour: it ends up wearing itself out silently.<\/strong><\/em><\/mark><\/p>\n

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The brain then gets used to very fast, continuous reinforcement and finds it harder and harder to engage in activities with delayed gratification, such as studying, reading or simply thinking without distraction. This constant stimulation can reduce tolerance of cognitive effort, which resembles one of the common symptoms described in attention disorders (difficulty getting going, effort feels costly).<\/p>\n

The impact can also be seen on sleep. Less sleep = less attentional capacity the next day. This further increases concentration difficulties, can affect performance and can cause injuries.<\/p>\n

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Stress, overload and mental fatigue: the impact of social media<\/h3>\n

Intensive use of social media can become a real source of chronic stress, because we stay constantly connected, exposed to social expectations and to \u201cdoomscrolling\u201d (scrolling endlessly through<\/em> negative, anxiety-inducing or stressful news). This can lead to a kind of burnout, a form of exhaustion and mental fatigue linked to being \u201calways online\u201d. People with good emotional self-regulation or who practise mindfulness cope better (Frontiers, 2025). Finally, this prolonged stress disrupts hormonal balance (cortisol) and tires the body, which further weakens mental health.<\/p>\n

Towards conscious, constructive use of social media<\/h3>\n

Rather than demonising social media, it is essential to learn to develop self-regulation skills. This is an integral part of the athlete's mental discipline. In practice, it means learning to:<\/p>\n