Holistic Athlete Weekly Newsletter

Top 5 Most Concerning Ways Social Media Impacts MH

The correlations are clear. With the increase in technology and social media, we have seen a steep decline in mental health, as well as struggles with social skills, problem solving abilities, and critical thinking aptitude. Other variables that come into play are the impacts of Covid (which drove younger people towards technology/screens as they were mandated to stay home), general health, economic insecurity, and more.

Teenagers are using social media to interact and connect with others, racking up significant screen time statistics and engaging in content that could be misleading or harmful. There is a long list of concerns when it comes to the impact that social media has on student-athletes, but here’s my top 5:

@zacketterha

Top 5 MOST concerning ways that social media use impacts mental health #mentalhealth #socialmedia #tiktok #instagram #fyp #snapchat

Reminder: 4 Domains of Performance

Anytime an athlete takes the field, there are four domains of performance that will dictate whether or not they play well. Analyzing performance can be broken down into:

Physical - Size, strength, speed. The athlete’s literal capability

Tactical - Strategy, gameplan, X’s and O’s

Technical - Mechanics and technique of playing their specific position or sport.

Mental - The skills we’ll be discussing throughout the year

In individual sessions, I often ask athletes to rank their four domains to determine what needs more time, energy, and effort. When a mistake is made, it’s helpful to use the four domains in order to diagnose the issue so we can make a plan to improve.

While evaluating an athlete and creating a plan for them to improve, it’s important to provide feedback on all 4 phases. This can improve their sense of confidence in their ability to get better, since you’re providing them with multiple different ways to improve their performance!

Holistic Athlete Services

If you haven’t done so already, sign up for the 11 module Coaches Education Course! Contact me for a discount code

Also if you haven’t already, please sign up for a Zoom call for you and your staff to discuss the specific needs of your team, to asses what services may benefit you, to review content from the course, and to discuss any challenges with athlete’s you’re experiencing.