From online sports communities to shaping India’s future: The power of its youth

Indian audiences have long enjoyed mainstream sports such as cricket; however, with times changing and social media becoming more accessible for people to consume, things are growing at a different pace. As youth are sharing their stories, influencing and creating content related to newer fields, things in the country are evolving and transforming stereotypical apprehensions that are hampering the sports economy at large.

For instance, the trend of calisthenics through social media platforms escalated only recently. Prior to that period, a random conversation with friends did not involve discussing fistreetliftinges on bars. In general, prior to social media, the wide category of sports that existed were unknown to people. Hence, at this point, with people becoming aware of even niche categories such as streetlifting, there is a degree of hope that will create more careers than one might imagine.

That being said, mainstream sport has its own calling and will always have a special place among Indian audiences. But people have started enjoying different niches now, and that resonates with how “fun” can be more than what might be promoted domestically. It is not about replacing existing opportunities but creating new ones.

In fact, today, creators are getting immense recognition for educating audiences about the scope of different sports. Creators have been sharing content that was earlier not possible for fans and enthusiasts to access, let alone getting a chance to interact with their favourite sportsperson.

In this respect, they are not only creating educational content but also engaging with people from different backgrounds, providing them with guidance and hope. The effect of one right reel reaching someone who needs motivation, sitting somewhere in rural India, can do wonders.

When a kid sees a muscle-up and decides to work towards their first pull-up, out of curiosity, enjoys it and develops an interest in working towards full-time strength training, you realise being an athlete doesn’t have to be one-way only.

And that individual curiosity is exactly what makes the larger role of young people so important. Considering that 75% to 85% of youth in India alone are active on social media, their contribution beyond the TV schedule is becoming increasingly important. They want to engage with creators to feed their curiosities and build a life out of it. As creators, participants and fans, they create a new pipeline of content that sustains not only their interests but also the economy. Through content creation, youth is building not just a community, but the country itself.

To think of it, a sport that may not have had visibility to attract sponsorship earlier might now be building a loyal digital audience, making it more valuable and commercially viable. Not to mention, creators are creating opportunities through this awareness by giving coaches, event organisers, equipment brands and manufacturers options that weren’t available earlier.

This is why youngsters deserve appreciation for how they’ve made use of social media to their advantage. As such, the youth of the country are anyway the future of India.

Prableen Kaur Gill (@fitspirit19) is a calisthenics athlete and a Chtrbox creator.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.