Connection, Presence, and Reinvention: The Flow of Sports Culture in the Age of Social Media

Abstract

Social media has become the central arena for the dissemination of modern sports culture, profoundly reshaping the paradigm of sports communication. This paper examines this transformation from a media sociology perspective, examining it through three dimensions: communication mechanisms, subject relationships, and cultural dissemination. The findings show that, in terms of communication mechanisms, fragmented narratives and “second screens” have enabled audiences to transition from passive observation to the role of “producer-consumer”; in terms of subject relationships, the self-disclosure of idols has created “simulated intimate relationships,” but has, under the influence of algorithms, led to the “tribalization” of fan groups and the erosion of public rationality; and in terms of cultural forms, sports consumption has undergone a shift from competitive “use value” to identity-based “symbolic value,” becoming a form of performance of a lifestyle. The author believes that while social media empowers the masses, it also triggers a crisis of the “spectacularization” of sports spirit. We should be cautious of the technological logic’s distortion of sports’ humanistic values.