Chapter 13 – Sport & Health Cyberpsychology

Chapter Summary

This chapter details the impact of technology today on behaviour in sport and health environments. Part one presents information on technologies used to assist athletes’/sport personnels’ performances. Sport psychology remote consulting, as well as the influence of social media use in sport environments are also discussed. Part two presents technology use in health settings, including remote support provisions and encouraging engagement in physical activity.

 Sport Cyberpsychology

• The use of equipment, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and video technology, is outlined, as is the use of various ‘wearables’ (i.e., Fitbit/Woop), to improve athletes’ performances.
• Gaming and augmented reality technologies to improve athletes’ mental skills are outlined.  
• Virtual reality (VR) technology use, specifically to help athletes prepare for a return to their sport following periods of absence due to illness, suspension, or injury, is presented. Such technology does appear to be effective in improving some athletes’ sport performances.
• Creating fully interactive VR technology should remain a goal of VR designers.
• Technology used for remote consulting accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, with video technologies such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Facetime often used.
• The benefits and dangers of these online technologies for sport psychology consulting with athletes are outlined, from ethical, boundary and security perspectives.
• The use, and influence, of social media networks (SMN) such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook in sport settings are also presented.
• The benefits and dangers of SMN use by athletes are outlined (i.e., their use to promote business and brand interests, while acknowledging that such SMN use may result in cyberbullying and harassment).

Health Cyberpsychology

• Part 2 of this chapter explores the use of technologies such as wearables and telecommunications to promote health-related behaviours online.
• Topics such as the sharing of health-related information online, as well as the benefits and dangers of joining online support groups are addressed.
• The use of technology as therapeutic tools for mental health issues are outlined.
• The benefits and risks of online searches for health information are also detailed.

Conclusion

• Some exciting areas for future research in sport and health cyberpsychology could include: (i) more detailed explorations of the impact of data availability and constant effort monitoring on athletes’ psychological well-being, (ii) evaluations of online consulting effectiveness and (iii) empirical evaluations of wearables used by general populations to assist them in achieving their health-related goals.