For aspiring collegiate athletes, social media is a double-edged sword. Though the anticipated college commitment post is exciting, the overwhelming feeling of not being good enough when seeing other successful commits echoes loudly in an athlete’s ear.
Overloaded high school athletes are under intense pressure, with 91% experiencing some level of stress.
Instagram feeds crammed with college sweatshirts can be overwhelming for eager athletes. The ticking time bomb of senior year becomes daunting, causing decisions to be made on the fly while looking for the best school to tag in their Instagram post, whether it be the absence of taking the time to see if a school is a right fit in favor of the better-known school or taking the first offer.
On the broader scale of professional sports, social media can be a tool for marketing. However, this seeps into high school athletic culture as well, with the new addition of Name, Image, Likeness. With NIL, athletes can make money and promote themselves through brands that find them on social media. It can also be used to be recruited to a college when the pileup of coaches’ inboxes risks missing promising athletes’ highlight videos.
The sports medicine research team at Boston Children’s Hospital and The Micheli Center for Sports Injury conducted a study that revealed a majority of student-athletes feel social media is a distraction from everyday life. However, they all believed that they were generally happy using their social media accounts. As long as it’s a tool for entertainment and not in comparison, the experience can be positive.
“There definitely can be some pressure of seeing a commitment post—it’s a huge deal. But it’s mainly healthy.” senior Lexi Nelson, a committed water polo player said. With the benefit of keeping up with her United States national teammates, Nelson’s experience with social media has been mostly positive.
The sports medicine research team at Boston Children’s Hospital and The Micheli Center for Sports Injury conducted a study that revealed a majority of student-athletes feel social media is a distraction from everyday life. However, they all believed that they were generally happy using their social media accounts. As long as it’s a tool for entertainment and not in comparison, the experience can be positive.
Overloaded high school athletes are under intense pressure, with 91% experiencing some level of stress.
Nelson did not use social media extensively for her sport beyond her commitment post, but senior Peter Chriss, who committed to Penn State for volleyball, relies heavily on his following for NIL deals and profits through partnering with a small shorts company.
Chriss often compared himself to the other setter on his club team, Bay to Bay, on social media. The player committed to UCLA, another high-level Division I school for volleyball.
“There were comments like, ‘I wonder if this guy rides the bench,’ but we’re boys and the competition is good and helps us grow,”
Peter Chriss
Like Nelson, he appreciates the increase in people within his sports community. At tournaments, there are many familiar faces. “You’re never really meeting someone for the first time—you’ve already seen their posts, it’s always good to already have an image of them in your head,” Chriss said.
Watching his coach’s experience, though, he witnessed social media backlash. His coach has over 130,000 followers and releases videos relating to volleyball skills and miked-ups. As a woman coaching men’s volleyball, she receives countless hateful DMs. At one tournament, a bucket of water was poured on her.
Chriss has also received negative comments online. “The amount of hate in the comments I receive is matched with the amount of love—people commenting ‘You inspire me,’” Chriss explained. “People think ‘This guy is good enough to play at a DI level.’ People will listen to what I say now because they think, ‘If I play like this kid I can get to his level of success in the sport.’”
Senior Meki Maile, committed to the University of Portland for Division I volleyball, described her volleyball Instagram account as a beneficial tool for the recruitment process. Although she noted her commitment to Portland wasn’t directly or solely because of Instagram, she was able to get attention from a variety of schools via DMs.
Maile emphasized the importance of separating her volleyball life from her personal life through separate Instagram accounts. “I wanted to have a balance and be able to separate my sports from my personal identity because that’s not the entirety of myself,” she said.
Nelson advised aspiring commits to “think about whether you’d rather get a bunch of likes on one commitment post that people are gonna forget about or commit somewhere you genuinely love.”
It’s easy to get caught up in conforming to peers’ expectations and let social media dictate lifelong decisions. Any athlete or individual should remember that life isn’t determined by the school you choose in high school.
“Don’t get caught up in the image of it. People are gonna forget about that post,” Nelson said.
