By Luke Michael
AFL players should refrain from using social media to protect their mental wellbeing, sports psychologists have warned.
Social media has been a hot topic in the AFL recently, with Alastair Clarkson revealing that Hawthorn monitor their players' use of social media to combat the deluge of criticism posted on online platforms.
Sports psychologist Jeff Bond: "My advice to elite athletes is to get off social media and leave announcements to their marketing people."Credit: AFL Media/Getty Images
The comments come after Collingwood forward Alex Fasolo announced he was taking a break from the game to deal with depression.
Sports psychologist Jeff Bond, who has worked with Sydney, St Kilda and Richmond, believes AFL players should get rid of social media for the sake of their mental health.
"My advice to elite athletes is to get off social media and leave announcements to their marketing people," he said.
"It's a strong position to take but I've never been in favour of athletes reading their own press and that was before social media, which makes it 10 times more prevalent."
He said negative social media criticism affected not only the players, but also coaches and board members.
"It extends right to the top of AFL clubs, CEOs are prone to attacks, presidents and board members as well. It's rife right throughout football clubs," he said.
Another sports psychologist, Dr Patsy Tremayne, agrees with Bond's comments. She worked as an AFL Players Association psychology consultant for five years and said there was a link between social media abuse and players' poor mental health.
"Most players would use social media for their advantage to raise their profile, but it can create a sense of isolation," she said.
"I don't know that's there's enough education for young players about the dangers of social media."
"If you can keep players off social media and leave it to managers that would be so much better."
This idea already has some support among the players, with Port Adelaide star Hamish Hartlett revealing he ditched Twitter six months ago to shield himself from negative comments.
"The things the boys read on social media, they have a huge impact on our mental space and the way we can feel," Hartlett told SEN.
"You like to see the positive things that are said about you … but unfortunately there's far too much negative stuff that gets out there."
Speaking to the media last Friday, Scott Pendlebury and Nathan Jones said senior players felt a duty to educate and protect younger teammates.
"There is a lot of negativity around and keyboard warriors having a crack at players," Pendlebury said. "Young guys all like to read about themselves when it's going well and they probably haven't figured out the tools yet to not do it when things aren't going well."
Jones added: "It's about educating the younger guys in terms of how to deal with the scrutiny and the pressure from public opinion".
While AFL clubs offer social media training to new players entering the system, Dr Tremayne warns that officials must remain vigilant to protect player welfare in the digital age.
"It's a constantly changing landscape because social media keeps evolving and it's hard to keep up," she said.
"The AFL needs to teach players to protect their privacy on social media and to protect their reputation."