The Paralympics are the most elite level of international disability sporting competitions in the world. Held every four years following the Olympics, the most recent 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro attracted a cumulative worldwide viewing audience of over 4 billion people. NBC Sports group was the primary mainstream media broadcasting outlet for American coverage of the event. The Paralympics represent the pinnacle competition of disability sports.
Disability is a minority group that anyone can join at any time. War has historically led to the growth of the disability community. Almost 40% of post-9/11 veterans reported a combat related disability, the highest percentage of any war cohort. Prince Harry of Wales established the Invictus Games in 2014 as a tool for challenging audience perceptions and strengthening the community of disabled veteran athletes. The Games also provide athletes an outlet for physical and mental rehabilitation. Both the Games and the athletes are relatively new to the disability sports community. The Games also broaden disability competition to encompass all service members with, not just physical injuries, but also physical and psychological illnesses, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cancer, and depression. The event quickly captured international media attention from networks like ESPN3, BBC, and recently, ABC was announced as the exclusive Australian broadcaster of the 2018 Sydney Games.
As coverage of the Paralympics and Invictus Games expands, so does international awareness of disability as a concept and as a culture. Social media presents athletes with a chance to tell their own story, generally free of media gatekeepers. How do these athletes with disabilities present themselves on Facebook? How does the self-presentation of Paralympic athletes compare with Invictus Games athletes? Data from public Facebook timelines of 30 athletes from each event were analyzed by a research team to learn more.
About the presenterJohn Watson
As a second year Journalism and Mass Communications PhD student, I am interested in disability culture, social media, and education. My research up until now has focussed specifically on portrayals of athletes with disabilities in the mass media and on social media.