Online aggression in the sports context. (SPORTSENSE)

While research on online aggression in general has increased significantly over the past two decades, scholarly attention to online aggression in the sports context remains relatively scarce. This is striking, given that the heightened emotions experienced during sporting events, the cultures of fandom and anti-fandom, and the ongoing mediatization and digitalization of sport all suggest that this context is particularly sensitive to online aggression. At the same time, the potential normalization of online aggression in the sports context may have serious consequences, not only at the individual level (e.g., affecting the mental health and performance of targeted athletes) but also at the societal level. For instance, racist banter in sport may delegitimize the presence of athletes with an ethnic minority background and could even spill over into other domains. In this project, we therefore aim to gain more insight into the different forms of sport-related online aggression, their prevalence, the profiles of aggressors and targets, as well as their perceived impact in the Flemish context. We will do so through a literature review and an exploratory empirical study. The results of this project will lay the groundwork for future research on online aggression and provide initial evidence to inform interventions.

Keywords:ONLINE AGGRESSION, ONLINE HATE, SPORTS

Disciplines:Communication sciences not elsewhere classified