As headlines go, “Social Media is Bad” doesn’t raise many eyebrows these days. TikTok and its ilk are said to be harming mental health, stifling creativity, eroding privacy, fueling disinformation, undermining national security, and so on. These are all big issues worthy of careful debate. But there’s a narrower and more tangible risk that Sweat Science readers might be concerned about. What if social media is making us slower?
A recent study in the European Journal of Sport Science, from Carlos Freitas-Junior of the Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil and his colleagues, presents data on what happens when athletes scroll on their phones before training sessions. Surprisingly, it doesn’t just mess with that specific workout. Instead, over time, the athletes make smaller gains in performance. The findings tell us something about social media—and they also suggest that the benefits of a workout may depend in part on the state of mind you’re in while doing it.
The Problem(s) With Social Media
Several studies over the years have examined social media use in athletes. Most famously, back in…
