The Impact of Social Media Use on Endurance Performance
by Doug Stewart
A paper published in 2022 explored the impact of social media use on a mobile phone for 30 minutes prior to a training session. Interestingly, it found an impact on performance. The athletes studied were 22 high level female swimmers with an average age of 21.8 years. They trained on average for 15.9 hours per week.
The swimmers were randomly split into two groups: a control group and the group that were using their smartphones and social media prior to their training sessions. The control group watched videos about the Olympic Games for 30 minutes prior to training, whilst the social media group used social media apps for 30 minutes before training. The study lasted 8 weeks.
Prior to starting the 8 week intervention and after the 8 weeks had passed the swimmers were tested for their explosive power (counter movement jumps), endurance (a tethered swim), swimming performance (50m, 100m and 400m tests) and inhibitory control (using a Stroop test – where the names of colours are written in a different colour to the word written).
After the 8 weeks of either watching videos about the Olympic Games or using social media prior to training, tests revealed that there was no impact in either group on the 50m swim time. Both groups improved their counter movement jumps – maybe as this was a new exercise for them, so they were learning and improving over the 8 weeks.
In the tethered swim (endurance) and the 100m and 400m swim performance tests, the control group (Olympic Games videos) improved their performance. They also improved in the Stroop inhibitory control tests, whilst the social media group did not improve in either of these areas.
Therefore, it may be that using social media on smartphones prior to swim training will reduce, or even nullify, any gains from the training on endurance and swim performance. Other research has shown the use of social media prior to training impacts decision making in volley ball players and boxers. So, it does appear that the use of social media, immediately prior to a training session is unlikely to improve the training and may even be detrimental in some areas (whether it be decision making or endurance, as shown with these swimmers).
References:
Fortes, L. S., Nakamura, F. Y., Lima-Junior, D., Ferreira, M. E., & Fonseca, F. S. (2022). Does social media use on smartphones influence endurance, power, and swimming performance in high-level swimmers?. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 93(1), 120-129.