Webinar
From Likes to Loneliness: The Psychological and Performance Impacts of Social Media on Athletes
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm EDT
5:00 pm - 6:15 pm UTC
Speakers
Jeff Ruser, PhD, CMPC, University of Notre Dame; Ruser Performance & Wellness LLC
Jesse Steinfeldt, PhD, CMPC, Indiana University; Assessment Sport and Performance Psychology Services, LLC
Overview
Social media has transformed how athletes engage with their sport, peers, and the world around them, yet its psychological and performance-related impacts have yet to be fully understood and can often be overlooked. This webinar will highlight how social media impacts athlete mental health, well-being, and sports performance.
Presenters will provide evidence-based insights into the risks and benefits of athlete social media use, aimed at enhancing the practice and education of mental performance consultants, mental health practitioners, researchers, and students. Topics of discussion will include the effects of online interactions and feedback, differential impacts of social media use type, cognitive functioning and recovery, organizational influences, and multicultural and social justice considerations. While the session will address a broad range of athletic populations, particular attention will be given to collegiate and professional athletes.
Attendees will gain practical strategies to help athletes navigate social media in a way that supports both their mental well-being and their performance. The session will also explore future directions for research and education, equipping professionals and students with applicable knowledge to enhance their work in sport psychology, counseling, coaching, and sports science.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Critically analyze the mental health and sports performance impacts of social media use within athlete populations
- Apply evidence-based psychological psychoeducation and interventions to enhance athlete health, well-being, and performance
- Explore and articulate unique considerations for working with and researching diverse athlete populations
- Identify future directions for furthering research, education, and evidence-based practice around this topic in particular
CE Credit
This program is under reivew by the Continuing Education Committee for 1.25 CEUs to partially meet the continuing education recertification requirement for Certified Mental Performance Consultants® (CMPC).
Program Format
You can attend an AASP webinar from your home or office. All you need is an internet connection. You can see the presentation slides on your computer or mobile device, and listen to the audio through your device, or call in with a phone. Registrants will be provided with login information the day prior to the session. The webinar will also be archived for those who wish to watch it at a later date.
About the Speakers
Dr. Jeff Ruser, CMPC, is a Licensed Counseling & Sport Psychologist and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® embedded in Athletics at the University of Notre Dame. In this role, he has the privilege of supporting 750 student-athletes across 26 sports while contributing to dynamic sport psychology and sports performance departments. Dr. Ruser is also the Founder and Lead Consultant of Ruser Performance and Wellness, LLC, where he provides individual and organizational performance psychology services. He delivers educational presentations and training to high school and collegiate athletic departments as well as professional sports leagues.
As a published researcher, Dr. Ruser has primarily explored social media use in collegiate sports and the intersections of positive psychology, athlete burnout, and performance. He was awarded the NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant and an Association for Applied Sport Psychology Conference Student Travel Award to support his dissertation research, Exploring the Emotional, Psychological, and Social Impacts of Social Media on Highly Visible Student-Athletes in the NIL Era. He remains actively engaged in research related to sport psychology, sports performance, and collegiate athletics.
Prior to professional practice, Dr. Ruser earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology with a Ph.D. minor in Sport & Performance Psychology from Indiana University Bloomington. He also holds a master’s degree in Sport Psychology from California State University, Fresno. When he is not attending sporting events for work or leisure, Dr. Ruser enjoys spending time with his wife and extended family, visiting national parks, and searching the Midwest for the best local pizza.
Dr. Jesse Steinfeldt, CMPC, is a Psychologist and a Professor at Indiana University. In this professional duality, he maintains a private practice where he provides Sport and Performance Psychology services to athletes in the community, while also teaching classes and coordinating the Sport and Performance component of the IU Counseling Psychology PhD program. In this capacity, Dr. Steinfeldt provides training and clinical supervision for doctoral students learning how to become Sport Psychologists, who help athletes be the best versions of themselves on and off the court.
Dr. Steinfeldt’s research covers several different areas. He has published widely on racial and gender role socialization dynamics, particularly the impact of masculinity norms on football players’ racial identity, athletic identity, and help-seeking behaviors, among a host of other psychosocial outcomes. Dr. Steinfeldt is currently working on a longitudinal neuropsychology study investigating subconcussive hits among high school football players to determine if there are any changes in brain structure or brain functioning over time due to cumulative head impacts that are embedded within the beautiful but violent game of football. He and his graduate students are also currently examining the host of psychosocial impacts on athletes in the Transfer Portal and NIL era, including how social media fuels these dynamics within this novel time in college sport.
As a former three sport collegiate athlete at Yale University and a professional athlete in Europe before retiring to pursue his graduate training, Jesse has received numerous personal and professional benefits from sport. His sons are currently Division 1 college football players, so he is acutely aware of the impact of social media on their well-being and performance. Jesse and his wonderful wife Erica have three darling cherubs (Aaron—22, Addison—21, Aidan—19). They live in Bloomington, IN, where they are managing their very recently emptied nest.
Registration
Students – $25.00
Members – $35.00
Non-members – $50.00
