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Using social media before competing does not worsen the score

2 studies · 40 archers measured

ForContextAgainst2022202420262023, context, n = 302026, for, n = 102026, context, n = 10
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

Only one experiment has put the idea to the test, and it finds nothing. Ten adult Brazilian archers with at least a year of competition shot sixty arrows at 18 metres twice, in random order: once after 45 minutes of social media on their phones, once after 45 minutes of a documentary. The score is 435.6 against 433.9 (p = 0.791), and mood, fatigue, perceived concentration and tiredness do not change significantly either. The design is good, because each archer serves as their own control, but ten people and a simulated competition rule out a large effect, not a small one: the difference between the two conditions, under two points, is far smaller than the difference between one archer and another. The only other nearby figure, a comparison in Indonesia between archers with more or less anxiety about being without their phones, finds twenty points fewer in the more dependent group, but it appears in a journal with questionable editorial standards and measures a habit, not what people do in the hour before shooting.

Also phrased as: "phone before competition"; "social media and focus"; "smartphone mental fatigue"; "using your phone before shooting"; "social media and score"

In practice

Archers are told to put the phone away before competing, because social media distract, tire the mind and follow you all the way to the shooting line.

Evidence

  • 2023
    Context Archers Published later

    30 club archers in Banyumas, Indonesia, split into two groups of 15 by their score on a questionnaire about anxiety at being without their phones, then 36 arrows at 40 metres: 188.40 points in the less anxious group against 168.07 in the more anxious one (t = 4.861, p < 0.001). It is a cross-sectional comparison with no control for experience or training volume, in a journal with questionable editorial standards, and it measures a habit, not social media use before competing.

    Comparative study of athletes with high and low nomophobia toward archery accuracy Questionable venue · Siis Suhasto, Tomoliyus, Widiyanto, Betrix Teofa Perkasa Wibafied Billy Yachsie, Fitrizka Acha Fimbriata

  • 2026
    For Archers Published later

    10 adult Brazilian archers with at least a year of competition (35.9 ± 12.9 years), crossover in random order: after 45 minutes of social media, 60 arrows at 18 m give 435.6 ± 47.0 points, after 45 minutes of a documentary 433.9 ± 64.7 (p = 0.791). Neither half of the round changes: 216.3 against 221.2 in the first (p = 0.570) and 219.0 against 212.7 in the second (p = 0.910).

    Efeitos do uso das redes sociais no desempenho do tiro com arco · Willyan Pagliuso Mafra, Otávio Joaquim Barrato de Azevedo, Loiane Cristina de Souza, Guilherme Torres Vilarino, Suzana Matheus Pereira

  • 2026
    Context Archers Published later

    In the same study, mood and perceived fatigue after social media do not differ from the control condition: vigour 6.7 against 8.3 (p = 0.180), fatigue 3.4 against 2.8 (p = 0.333), concentration 5.5 against 6.4 (p = 0.445) and tiredness 2.4 against 2.2 (p = 0.878). The most obvious explanation, that social media leave people tired or distracted, does not show up in the questionnaires.

    Efeitos do uso das redes sociais no desempenho do tiro com arco · Willyan Pagliuso Mafra, Otávio Joaquim Barrato de Azevedo, Loiane Cristina de Souza, Guilherme Torres Vilarino, Suzana Matheus Pereira

Status history

  1. 2023 Not studied Nobody had measured what the phone does to the score in the hour before shooting. The nearest figure is a comparison at an Indonesian club between the two halves of thirty archers, ranked by anxiety about being without their phones: those with more score 168 out of 360 against 188, but it is a cross-sectional comparison between groups already formed, in a journal with questionable editorial standards, and it concerns a habit, not phone use before competing.
  2. 2026 Reported The first experiment arrives. Ten experienced Brazilian archers, in random order, shoot sixty arrows at 18 metres after 45 minutes of social media and after 45 minutes of a documentary: 435.6 points against 433.9 (p = 0.791), and mood, concentration and perceived tiredness do not change either. The starting idea, that social media harm shooting, is not borne out, and the claim is written in the direction of the result. The design is good but the sample is small, and a single study goes no further than reported.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Using social media before competing does not worsen the score (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/social-media-before-competing

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_socialpregara,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Using social media before competing does not worsen the score},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/social-media-before-competing},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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