Critical Reflection

Throughout my article I aimed to highlight a major misconception of how athletes are viewed online and what they actually go through behind the scenes. I was able to do this by combining personal experiences, research, interviews, and survey data. My work shows how this social issue is growing daily and something must be done to help address this problem and improve the well being of athletes.

My research article tends to focus on athletes as a social group that is often misunderstood. Athletes are commonly viewed as strong, confident, and individuals who live a luxurious and successful life. However, my article challenges this stereotype by revealing the emotional struggles many athletes face. I did this by including Simone Biles' experience at the 2021 Olympics, it shows how social media can misinterpret situations which can lead to harming the athletes mental health. Additionally, I used WNBA player Breanna Stewart to show how one mistake on division 1 sports can go even beyond criticizing the athletes performance by targeting their families.  

Using my own personal experience also contributes to representing the social group. My story of being isolated from my team despite what social media portrayed allows me to grow a deeper connection with the reader because they might have had a similar experience. It also shows that this affects not just professionals but also student athletes who are starting to make a name for themselves. What I did to make this point stronger is I created a survey online where students from different age groups and schools that are currently or have played sports in the past answered the questions. The results in my article show this issue is seen very often and is something that should be talked about among others. 

In terms of branding my article maintains a consistent tone and message through the entire research. The introduction sets up the problem by making a general statement about sports. This gives an idea to the reader about what I will be talking about throughout my research article. I then gave my own personal experience, this is the fundamental that started this whole research because without it I would have never realized how big this issue is. By sharing my own story, it added more emotion to my article and made it more relatable and authentic. I also used professional American Gymnast Simon Biles and Breanna Stewart as an example to show how even the most elite athletes also deal with mental health issues.

Another element that helped with my branding is being able to make a balance between the emotional appeal and factual evidence. On top of the professional athletes stories, I also included my story and quotes from Gabriel Ortiz and Miriam Ochoa, which are interviews that I did. This makes the research more relatable to the reader where they get a better understanding of this issue. Meanwhile, I included sources such as the World Health Organization and other research studies to make my writing more accurate and credible. This combination helps create a professional yet relatable tone, which is crucial for engaging the audience.

My product engages with the audience in many different ways. One of the ways is by starting my article with a general topic about sports and making it more specific into mental health and social media by mentioning my own personal experience. I then add a question that guides me to the rest of the article but it also serves as a purpose for the reader to determine their own response to the question. As I mentioned before, the use of real life examples and direct quotes from the interviews allows the readers to draw connections and make it more interesting.

Furthermore, the article addresses modern issues that we all tend to see on a daily basis. With social media being used around the world, especially by younger people, it connects with my audience and makes the message more impactful. I’m also able to engage with my audience by leaving a thoughtful message for them, it is something that they can think back on. People sometimes use words of courage to take action.

However, doing this article was not easy. Before starting my article, I struggled to find evidence and statistics that would help support my theme. The lack of available data and open discussion made me realize that this issue is not talked about enough and overlooked. I also struggled finding people to interview. Many people would either not respond to my messages or I would get rejected. However, after spending countless hours reaching out, sending messages, and waiting for responses, I was able to get in touch with Miriam Ochoa and Gabriel Ortiz. The interviews opened a new perspective to me about social media. This helped me highlight how modern athletes face new challenges that previous generations did not experience. Including her in my article makes it stronger since she played volleyball professionally, it shows that this issue is seen constantly and locally. With this knowledge I was able to expand more on my article and later do my own online survey. This would bring awareness to the problem, which will hopefully lead to people finding a solution.

Overall, this project allowed me to explore an important social issue and present it in a way that is both informative and engaging. By combining personal experience, research, and real-life examples, I was able to create a piece that challenges common perceptions and raises awareness about mental health in athletes. It also helped me develop my ability to analyze and go deeper on my research. It also helped improve my writing skills. I have been able to become more selective with my word choice and structure so everything could flow smoothly. And I learned how to reach out to others and overall not be afraid to talk to others. This allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and help communicate with others effectively. Overall, this experience was fun but also beneficial for me and the readers. I will be carrying this new skills so I can use them later on in the future.