Could "App Fatigue" Be Weighing on Student-Athletes in Tech-Driven College Sports World?
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Tapped Out: Could "App Fatigue" Be Weighing on Student-Athletes in Tech-Driven College Sports World?
Executive Summary
Mobile applications, or “Apps”, on one’s smartphone has been a source of fatigue across the globe.
College athletes are increasingly asked to utilize various apps to support a variety of aspects in their day.
College athletes may be asked to use apps in areas like sport performance, nutrition, team communications, NIL marketplaces, NIL reporting, team calendars, marketing and social media content delivery and time management, among other areas.
A survey of student-athletes conducted by the NCAA in Fall 2020 indicated elevated rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety, hopelessness and feelings of being depressed.
Ironically, the NCAA student-athlete survey from Fall 2020 was administered online through a software platform that was designed to be taken via smartphone, tablet or computer.
“Nomophobia” is the fear of being without your mobile phone.
Statistics show that downloaded apps are only used once 25% of the time and never opened again.
The spike in NIL third-party companies relentlessly promoting to student-athletes and the college athletics community the importance of enhancing one’s brand on social media and dedicating time and attention to NIL opportunities through a variety of apps seemingly advances the app fatigue conundrum.
According to a Systemato article published in 2021, "App Fatigue" is a phrase termed by app developers describing a scenario when customers are no longer eager or are too overwhelmed to download or use new apps. It happens when smartphone users are faced with an excessive amount of applications as well as the daily (or more frequent) alerts they get from them.
Similarly, Clevertap reported that app fatigue is caused by the that fact apps have become such a pervasive part of modern life. Between the number of apps available and their constant presence via notifications, they’ve become something we’ve started to grow weary of rather than excited by.
Beyond the ubiquitous social media apps such as Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook, the prominence of apps for managing a wide-variety of day-to-day interactions and engagements in the college athletic environment may be exacerbating the student-athlete experience despite the well-intended purposes of many athlete-centric apps.
“Our technology-heavy world absolutely leads to increased stress in people of all ages. Over the last 10 years, I have seen a huge jump in my private practice of individuals who have stress and anxiety disorders as a direct result of technology use,” says Dr. Lisa Strohman, psychologist and the founder of Digital Citizens Academy, in a conversation with Verywellmind.com.
“Stress in general affects our overall health and wellness by disrupting our body’s natural rhythm and patterns like digestion, sleep and immune health.”
Per a Forbes.com article from 2020, the ten most downloaded Apps are shown below.
Per the Forbes article, TikTok was downloaded a staggering 850 million times. However, the four Facebook properties ranking among the top six were installed a grand total of 2.05 billion times.
App fatigue seemingly is a close cousin to “Zoom fatigue,” which was prominent during the thick of the pandemic shutdown. “It’s a different type of fatigue,” said college student Michael Adelman in an interview with the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “Every semester, when you’re getting to the final weeks, you’re pretty drained, but I think not doing much other than school has been really mentally draining.
“So, yeah, there’s definitely been Zoom fatigue, computer fatigue, staying in my bedroom fatigue,” he said.
App usage statistics really stand out when looking at a report compiled by Buildfire.com. According to statistics published in 2021, the average mobile user will spend 3 hours and 10 minutes each day on their phone. Apps account for 90% of this time. However, despite the fact that the typical smartphone has 80+ apps downloaded, consumers only engage with 9 mobile apps per day and 30 apps per month. 62% of installed apps are not utilized on a monthly basis. Further, the stats go on to show that 25% of apps are only used once after being downloaded and never opened again. In sum, 88% of mobile time is spent on apps.
Research from Forrester found that smartphone users spend almost half (46%) of their mobile screen time on a single app— and that their top 5 apps get a whopping 88% of their time.
The number of apps and app usage by college athletes to advance their college athletics experience has seemingly increased in recent years with the proliferation of tech companies entering the college athletics realm. Universities and their athletic departments may be asking student-athletes to use apps in areas like sport performance, sport nutrition, team communications, NIL marketplaces, NIL reporting, team calendars, marketing and social media content delivery and time management, among others.
Not having one’s phone or not having it charged also can increase the heart rate. According to a Verywellmind,com article, people can suffer from “nomophobia.”
Nomophobia is an abbreviated form of "no-mobile-phone phobia." The term was first coined in a 2008 study that was commissioned by the UK Postal Office. In a sample of more than 2,100 adults, the study indicated that 53% of participants experienced nomophobia. The condition is characterized by feelings of anxiety when people lose their phones, run out of battery life, or have no cellular coverage.
The study revealed that this fear can be so powerful that many people never turn off their phones, even at night or during times that they won't be using their devices.
When asked why they never turn off their phones, 55% cited a need to keep in touch with family and friends, 10% said they needed to be contactable for work reasons, and 9% reported that turning off their phones made them anxious.
The NCAA’s 2020 student-athlete study also showed that mental health concerns remained highest among demographic subgroups typically displaying high rates of mental distress (e.g., women, student-athletes of color, those on the queer-spectrum, students living alone or away from campus and those reporting family economic hardship). Of note, student-athletes in their senior year and those attending classes fully virtually displayed heightened mental health concerns in the fall as well.
The advent of NIL in college athletics certainly has added phone-usage fuel to the fire over app fatigue. Student athletes can tap and swipe their way to social media influencing opportunities, manage their NIL activity reporting, and peruse a variety of other NIL-related platforms with just a tap on their phone. NIL companies expound on the need for student-athletes to maximize all of the available opportunities– thereby implying pressure to do more online, through social media apps and NIL platforms alike.
The usage of phones by college students, including student-athletes, isn’t going away. The appetite for athletic department units such as nutrition, sports medicine, sport performance, academics, and NIL to track, communicate, and drive interactions with student-athletes via apps does not appear to be waning either.
For athletics administrators, coaches, and mental health counselors alike, app fatigue may be a worthy topic to discuss with student-athletes and one’s student-athlete advisory committee in the months ahead. If administrators, coaches, and mental health counselors are “tapped out”– maybe the athletes are too?
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
