About this Research Topic

Background

The development of technology and social media provides great opportunities for sports campaigns and at the same time poses new challenges for both practitioners and researchers. Technological advances can be both beneficial while organizing sports campaigns, training, spreading positive values, building relationships with fans, sharing content, and creating community and harmful in terms of spreading hate. Online racism, sexism, bullying, and harassment have a negative impact on athletes’ and spectators’ psychological well-being, confidence, reputation, and, ultimately, on the image of the sport itself.

This Research Topic aims to publish research analyzing the role of technologies and social media in sports campaigns and their relation to the problem of online hate, in order to better understand the multifaceted effect of these factors and their impact on the sports community. For example, incorporating artificial intelligence into this area of research can enrich our understanding of various interactions in the relations between technologies, social media, and the sports community. It is sought not only to analyze phenomena, but also to propose practical solutions on how to make effective use of technological advances, promote positive communication, create a safe environment for doing sports and the Internet, and strengthen sports values in the context of well-being, solidarity, tolerance, and diversity.

The Research Topic covers a broad field of research where the use of technologies and social media in sports campaigns is intertwined with various psychological processes and behavior dynamics. Therefore, we welcome research on various topics, including but not limited to:
• Interaction between artificial intelligence and humans in the processes of creating and managing sports campaigns
• Fan identities and reactions to sports campaigns in different sports
• The use of AI-based algorithms in the context of online hate
• The relation of abuse on social media to the dynamics of bystander behavior
• The psychological effect of online hate on athletes, coaches, sports officials and fans
• Organized hate groups on social media and the dynamics of their member's behavior
• The use of social networks and the psychological well-being of athletes/sports fans
• The influence of culture on the way sport-related individuals perceive, and assess different types of online content, behavior forms and react to this
• Peculiarities of different sports branches and their relation to hate on social media
• Strategies for overcoming the consequences of digital violence in the context of sport
 
Manuscripts can include empirical studies, review papers, meta-analyses, theoretical frameworks, or case analyses, which would help to better understand the relations between sports campaigns, social networks, and hate as well as their multifaceted effect.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: athletes, fans, online hate, social media, sport campaigns, technology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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