Football takes part in a loop, where players are constantly abused online in a vicious cycle.
To what extent is this caused by social media? And how does it affect one’s mental health?
Many players in the Premier League have recently faced abuse online. For example, when Tyrone Mings was selected to play in the Euro 2020s, he faced a lot of backlash from ‘fans’ with strong views. Mings recently said how the abuse he faced affected his mental health badly, as it knocked his confidence and left him feeling anxious about the game - the lack of faith in him (from others) made him lose faith in himself. Instead of worrying about his capabilities, we should have congratulated and supported his achievements.
Another player who has faced a lot of backlash is Tottenham’s Harry Winks. Although deemed to be ‘one of their own’ and a very loyal, deserving player, fans have been abusing him online when he underperforms (he even faced death threats). Every minute he played, fans ridiculed him online, surely shattering his confidence. Would he not feel nervous about playing a game as he knows social media is thriving on his underwhelming performances?
If we think back to the summer, when Harry Kane did not show up for Tottenham training: social media was quick to sensationalise the story and draw conclusions about the situation (before Kane released a statement). One question to add onto this is, why did Tottenham let it get that far if they knew the stories were fake? Were they preparing to sell him and minimise the backlash from fans.
Linking onto the three above points, I wonder to what extent does a player’s appearance on social media influence a managerial decision?
But, what gives these fans the right to abuse players? Is it because they pay for a ticket, membership or season ticket? Is it because they are loyal to the club?
This abuse on social media doesn’t just affect the players, it also affects fans (especially younger ones). With social media becoming more prominent with kids, when they see the backlash and the focal talking points online, how would it influence them? Personally, I feel that their behaviour would change from a motivated to laissez faire attitude, and change their view and perception of their role models.
From this, I think we can all see that football is a game where players are constantly ridiculed and held to such high, impossible standards (it is important to remember that we are all human and no one should face that kind of abuse and disrespect). It is also clear to see that social media blows the stories/language to a huge proportion (and spreads it very quickly, acting as a source for people to ‘feed off’), and therefore epitomises the jealousy and hatred of people.
Social media is an online platform which gives some people a rush of excitement (almost like a lot of serotonin) and means that most stories get sensationalised to earn the highest number of followers, likes, comments and reshares. Nothing (or at least a small proportion) of what we see on social media is real/accurate, and instead creates a hyper-real life/perspective.
What do you think?
By Grace Wells
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