Paralympic athletes’ use of Twitter to promote social change @JoshuaPate James Madison University @DrRobHardin University of Tennessee
May 26, 2015
Paralympic athletes’ use of
Twitter to promote social change
@JoshuaPateJames Madison University
@DrRobHardinUniversity of Tennessee
#purpose
Show how Paralympic athletes can use Twitter to promote social change, specifically inclusion in sport
#dec28
#mcfadden13 consecutive tweets
Born in Russia with spina bifida
Not provided with appropriate care as a child
Adopted by a U.S. citizen
Paralympic athlete
cnn.com
#mcfaddenBronze @ 2004 Paralympic Games
High school track team
Inclusion?
Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act (2008)
#long
#long
#long
“The measure of who we are is …
… what we do with what we have.”
Vince Lombardi
#mcfadden
“Sports is my passion …
… paving access for others is my purpose.”
#twitterAllows athletes to:
Keep in contact
Communicate with followers
Access information
(Browning & Sanderson, 2012)
#twitterAllows fans to:
Connect in instant conversation
Interact over the course of sporting events
Interact in times of breaking news
Interact throughout a sport’s season
(Reichart Smith & Smith, 2012)
#twitterAllows media to:
Offer commentary
Break news
Interact with followers
Link to content
Promote material
(Sanderson & Hambrick, 2012)
#twitterWhat we know:
Sport can stimulate transformation/social change(Blauwet & Willick, 2012)
Performance success not equal to media coverage(Tomasz & Fizjoterapia, 2011)
Athletes become own, unfiltered media
#twitterCommunicate with followers
Connect in instant conversation
Offer commentary
Break news
Interact with followers
Promote material
#twitterParalympic athletes traditionally do not have a
platform
Provides athletes with a platform
#rolemodelforchange
Being a Paralympic athlete may provide these individuals with their biggest stage from which to share viewpoints.
Twitter allows those messages to be sent without gatekeepers that have existed in the past.
Media
Stereotypes
Paralympic athletes’ use of
Twitter to promote social change
@JoshuaPateJames Madison University
@DrRobHardinUniversity of Tennessee