Image and sport: exhibition of brazilian athletes on the instagram social network

Abstract

Background: Social networks have changed the dynamics of society in communication, commercial and social relations, advertising, among others. In sports, this would not be different. Along with this, the new media open up new possibilities for exploration of the image of the athlete, since traditional media conduct different treatments for male and female athletes. Objective: To verify the posts made on Instagram by Brazilian athletes and to verify if there are differences related to the gender of the athletes in the contents posted. Methods: The subjects selected for this research were Brazilian athletes and medalists of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The data were obtained through the collection of the images that the athletes posted on the Instagram and after that, the analysis of the images were made with the use of a checklist created for that study. Results: The results indicated that male and female did not present differences between categories of posted images. The most common type of images posted are the images in which the athlete is present, in places related to their work and in moments of relaxation. It also highlights the fact that most of the images posted do not make any reference to the sponsorships of the athletes. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that male and female have the same behavior of photo posting on social networks. It is also observed that the potential of social networks for advertising is still little explored by Brazilian athletes. Due to the originality of this work and because it seems to be a very pertinent theme in the present day, it is suggested the extension of this study.