r/case-study • March 15, 2024
How Social Media has Impacted Basketball
The impact of new media on sports has been significant, changing how people can interact with their favourite teams and players. There are over two billion active users on Facebook, one of the biggest social media outlets in the world (Saxena & Saroha, 2017). With social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and X[1] now growing faster than ever, it has grown into the basketball world. Social media has both a positive and negative impact on sport culture. It has improved the relationships between teams, athletes, and fans to create a better connection and create a sense of unity to help make fans feel like they are a part of the team. However, social media does have its drawback. With highlight culture becoming increasingly more prevalent on social media, it has effectively ruined basketball culture in youth sport, by negatively influencing the youth that look up to these star players.
Fan Engagement
Professional sport has always been about trying to generate a profit, and social media go hand in hand to transform the way fans have been able to engage with their fanbase. The two- way communication allows fans to engage, react, and feel more connected to their favourite teams and athletes, which allows the creation of a sense of community and helps create more loyalty the fan base. There is research done that showed that online social platform communications have a huge impact on the online fanbase (Trivedi et al., 2020, as cited in Saxena & Saroha, 2023). Athletes can also use their platform to share their believes and advocate for social change, not only to engage with fans on a deeper level, but to further the sense of community.
Toronto Raptors Open Gym
In 2012, the Toronto Raptors (Raptors) created a TV series called Open Gym that allowed fans to “[follow] the marathon of each NBA season focusing [on] the [Raptors] team, showcasing the trials, tribulations and triumphs endured” (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, 2012). While it’s unclear why the series began, they want athletes to connect with their fans by showing their training sessions, pre-game preparations, and other aspects that fans typically do not see.
There is an emotional aspect to the TV series, as fans do not see the human in athletes. Typically fans only get to see athletes as puppets playing for their favourite team, but the series shows the human side of them. It allows viewers to see the player’s authentic self, as the TV series shows all the emotions that are at full display in a trade. After the Raptors traded for Marc Gasol, broadcaster Jack Armstrong states that “from a personal perspective, you miss them … and in this business, you’re not supposed to get emotionally connected, but you do because we’re people” (Toronto Raptors, 2019, 11:17). Without this TV series, fans do not get to see this side of the sport. Fans only get to see what happens on TV. They only get to see their athletic performances. By sharing these personal moments, athletes can humanise themselves, making them more relatable and approachable to their audience.
Social Justice Movement in the Bubble
Athletes can also use their platform to share sponsors and stand for causes that they believe in. A recent example of this was when the National Basketball Association (NBA) held the remainder of the regular season and the playoff in Orlando during the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, which they had called the bubble. NBA players were using their platform to promote social justice. Players would wear jerseys that would not only have their surnames, but social messages as well such as “Equality”, “Black Lives Matter”, “Love Us”, “Peace”, and “I Can’t Breathe” (Season Restart: Team-by-team Social Justice Messages on Jerseys | NBA.com, 2020). Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown says that it is important that players use their platform because “[their] job … is to keep these conversations going” (Andrews & Spears, 2020). Athletes using their platform to promote social causes can spark conversations, raise awareness on important issues, and call for positive societal impact. By utilising their popularity to talk about social justice issues, athletes engage fans in meaningful discussions and contribute to positive change.
Another instance of NBA players using their platform was when the Milwaukee Bucks (Bucks) players and coaches boycotted their playoff game against the Orlando Magic (Magic) following the death of Jacob Blake (ESPN.com, 2020). The Bucks had full intentions of taking the loss but were surprised when the Magic and the rest of the league followed suit. Including the Bucks vs Magic game, the NBA postponed three playoff games that day, and postponed the following games on Thursday as well. But not only did the protest include the NBA, the decision led to postponements in other leagues, such as the Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer. Current Bucks coach, Doc Rivers, supported the boycott of games saying that “[their] talent is [their] power” (ESPN.com, 2020). However, this would come with some backlash as “[it was] fine … and now it’s sort of out of fashion so now they aren’t doing it, which makes you wonder how genuine it was” (J. Abraham, personal communication, March 3, 2024). Abraham makes an interesting point, suggesting that these protests were just empty gestures rather than trying to create change for the better. However, it is important to take note of an athlete’s perspective, as they face pressure from stakeholders, sponsors, and fans, which can influence their decisions and actions. While the immediate effect of the boycott may be small, its importance serves as a spark for more conversation about racial injustice and police brutality. It highlights that athletes have the potential to use their platform for greater social change.
The boycott initiated by the Bucks and its subsequent ripple effects across other professional sports leagues highlights the relationship between sports and activism. While it sparked debate and criticism, it continues to grow awareness. It shows the power of athletes to effect meaningful change both inside and outside the world of basketball.
Effects on Basketball Culture
Basketball culture is a complex concept that encompasses the social and cultural significance of the sport of basketball. It has been widely popularised around the world and is no longer limited to the scope of sports and games but is embedded into social factors.
Highlight culture is a newly arising in the world today. Simple things such as hustle plays, talking on defence, taking good shots, or playing actual defence does not generate any views on mixtapes because that is not cool (Rivers & Haghighi, 2023). Only the best players would get a mixtape during Austin Rivers time in high school, because that was when it had not been popularised yet. It was an honour to get a mixtape. Media teams like Ball is Life and Hoopmixtape would follow someone because they were a great player. Parents now can pay companies to create a mixtape for their children to generate some exposure for their kids. But this is not entirely the company’s fault. It just happens to be the result of our environment and culture that society has created (Stooeyburger, 2023). Sim (2023) found that 34% of fans between 18 and 24 years old prefer to watch highlights, and only 30% of the same age group prefer to watch the game fully. Then with the remainder of those who watch the game, 50% of NBA fans under 35 wait until the fourth quarter, which encouraged the NBA to add an option to watch just the fourth quarter of any game (Kotuby, 2021). Fans watching partial games or just highlights can be rooted in several factors, such as time constraints and the convenience of consuming shorter content.
After TV, social media platforms are the next most popular way to consume sports (Sim, 2023). More specifically, the rise of a new social media, TikTok, caused a ripple effect for the growth of highlight culture. TikTok was very successful as it is highly addictive. It has a wide range of content from dancing, cooking, and comedy skits, and this was able to reach a bigger audience and encourage active engagement (Geyser, 2024). TikTok’s 60 second videos are so addictive, that other social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube have created their own version of these short form videos. These short form videos are very addictive due to the algorithm-based recommendation (Rach & Peter, 2021 as cited in Kohler, 2023). This algorithm keeps people engaged on the social media platform because it feeds the user what they want to see. The continued video consumption leads to the most dominant motivational driver for short form videos, escapism. Escapism can be defined as the pursuit of happiness, and fun in addition to the primary drivers of communication and self-expression to divert our attention from our hectic daily lives (Rach & Peter, 2021 as cited in Kohler, 2023). A Reddit user talks about how they fell into a TikTok addiction began by saying:
Prior to quarantine,[2] I was never really interested in TikTok because it just never appealed to me… I caught on the wave, first by watching TikTok compilations on YouTube… Now I’m in a deep hole of watching [TikTok’s] hours on end. The company has a way to deliver drugs through the screen, seriously. The algorithm is so fucked… I’ve become depressed and can’t find the motivation to do anything…my dopamine addiction is so bad that I can’t focus for a second. (Anyone else feel like TikTok has reduced their attention span from 8 seconds to 0.5?, 2021)
This is backed by Wilmer et al. (2017) who found that large social media consumption is associated with shorter attention spans. The correlation between the shorter attention spans and growing of short form content is what increased the growth of highlight culture.
This increase of highlights has effects that then trickle down into youth basketball. When these highlight plays are what kids see on social media, they idolise these players, and they try to imitate what they do (Stooeyburger, 2023). In a highlight mixtape for a 3rd grade basketball team, NBA players such as Fournier (2023) stated “[NBA players] need to set a better exemple [sic] for this new generation”, and Lillard (2023) added on saying “It’s getting out of control”. An Edmonton Basketball Officials Association official stated that highlight culture “makes the benches a lot more toxic, and at higher levels it makes the parents more toxic as well” (N. Hamel, personal communication, March 10, 2024). Basketball is losing its organic nature, as highlight culture becomes more dominant, and it will continue to dominate (Stooeyburger, 2023).
Toronto Raptors Pizza Party
On December 5, 2023, Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic promised his players if they win three straight games, an all-expenses paid dinner (Sutelan, 2024). Slowly overtime, this all- expenses paid dinner slowly turned into a pizza party. After three months, the Raptors had accomplished the feat by beating the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, and Brooklyn Nets. At first, the idea of having a meal from the coach seems a bit silly, as if free food is enough to motivate athletes who are getting paid millions. However, this creates a better team culture around the Raptors team. Rajakovic stated that he had intended to get the team a nice dinner, but due to the team’s humble nature, they insisted on having pizza party instead (Toronto Raptors, 2024). By opting into a pizza party, the Raptors showed their preference for team bonding, which can translate onto the court with the improved team chemistry. This incident also shows how social media can be used to close the gap between fans and athletes by presenting the athletes as individuals who also enjoy simple things like pizza. The playful nature of this pizza party created a sense of anticipation for Raptors fans, which allowed them to engage with the team’s culture. The pizza party became a moment of celebration that went beyond the Raptors team, and to the fans as well.
Conclusion
The growth of social media has significantly changed the landscape of basketball, both in terms of fan engagement and basketball culture itself. Highlight culture has shifted the focus of young players toward achieving 60 seconds of fame on social media, rather than focusing on the fundamentals and trying to make the right play. On the other hand, social media has increased fan engagement, allowing fans to get close and personal with their favourite teams as platforms have become crucial for sports teams to communicate with their fans to create a sense of community. Social media has also provided players with a powerful platform to push for a positive change. The influence of basketball stars on social media extends beyond the court, as they advocate for social causes. Social media is a double-edged sword the way it has a positive impact on the sport of basketball, and a negative impact, and it is too inconclusive to state whether if it is purely one or another.
References
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