There is no question that media has become an important part of our lifestyles, and for some, a lifestyle heavily reliant on this media. The “Pew Research Center” has concluded that 65% of adults in America use at least one social media platform in 2015, which is a huge jump from the very modest 7% in 2005. It is this huge following that has made media so powerful and so widely used by franchise giants all around the world. One giant entity being sport on a world scale, over the past decade sport in general has become even bigger than it was before and this is largely to do with the increased use of social media. There have been many discussions about this, as there are many positives of this, but just as many negatives as I will discuss.
Media within the sporting industry has many positive aspects just as it has negative ones. When considering the influence media has on sport, one can look at the various effects it has. For example, the exposure media brings, not only to the sport itself, but also to the players, staff, team owner, etc. Sport has for a very long time, dominated various different countries and continents as the most popular form of entertainment. Furthermore, in saying this, media has helped immensely to promote and share various sporting events around the world. This international sharing of sporting events has a far greater impact on the world than many would assume. These sports promotions and events bring countries together, the love of particular games such as the “world game,” soccer, brings people together by creating a common interest.
Having such a big media presence with each and every sporting event that takes place and on so many various platforms, forces people to use different media outlets to access sporting events. For example, fans are able to access coverage of a particular sporting event through a live coverage feed on the television, a stream on the web or a replay via Facebook or YouTube. This means that most spectators are able to access this entertainment no matter what your socio economic status is. In saying this, media being such a big entity, requires many people to run and maintain their goals and objectives within the sporting world. This intern creates jobs for every community around the world that requires varying levels of qualifications.
Media in sport despite having major positives associated with its presence also has its negatives. Certain actions within sporting communities or activities done by individual players will very often end up on every form of media within a few hours of the event occurring. Whether or not the facts are true or not it makes for a “good story.” These media platforms are the perfect place for “keyboard warriors” to get online and give there opinions and make remarks about specific people. Furthermore, media outlets allow for the fostering of a culture that has huge mental repercussions towards the people on the receiving end of the comments.
Media in sport is a great thing and should continue to grow in the coming years, as it is a great way to bring people together and create entertainment for others. It creates jobs for people all over the world, and reduces the gap in socio economic statuses. In saying this however, more effort should be put into protecting these sportsmen and woman from personal attacks made by the wider community.