The Association Between New Media Environmental Stimuli and Chinese Athletes’ Mental Health: An Environmental Psychology Perspective

Hening Wang; Chun Zhang; Ruifeng Liu

doi:10.62177/jetp.v2i4.959

Authors

Hening Wang City University of Macau
Chun Zhang City University of Macau
Ruifeng Liu City University of Macau

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/jetp.v2i4.959

Keywords:

New Media Environment, Athlete Mental Health, Environmental Psychology, Cultural Moderation, Environmental Stimuli

Abstract

With the development of new media technology, the social environment in which athletes reside has undergone a fundamental transformation. Based on the perspective of environmental psychology, this study analyzes how the environmental characteristics of new media influence athletes' mental health. The study finds that the new media environment forms systemic pressure on athletes across three dimensions: physical, social, and temporal. Specifically, the high-intensity information stimuli in the physical dimension increase cognitive load and induce anxiety; the public evaluation and polarized public opinion in the social dimension lead to a surge in social pressure and a decline in self-efficacy; and the continuity in the temporal dimension causes a substantial depletion of psychological resources. In the Chinese cultural context, collectivist values, shame culture (Face), and expectations of moral perfection further amplify the negative impacts caused by the new media environment. Therefore, this study emphasizes that protecting athletes' mental health cannot rely solely on individual-level interventions but requires regulation and management at the environmental level. This research provides a theoretical basis for understanding athletes' mental health issues in the new media era and offers practical references for optimizing the ecological environment of competitive sports.

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