WAG humble and modest gymnasts

[pt coach]

I have really enjoyed the attitudes displayed during this Olympics. The athletes from all countries seem to genuinely be cheering for and supporting each other. The atmosphere appears positive. I am not a big follower of the social media accounts for any of the U.S. gymnasts (I do not really understand instagram or tik tok since I am old) but I love that they are comfortable speaking up and out about all manner of things. I may not always agree with everything said or posted but I will take that any day over previous years where the gymnasts were expected to be perfect robots. I will also take assertive and confident over modesty and humbleness. I love seeing successful confident women on the Olympic stage.

 

[Deleted member 26744]

I have really enjoyed the attitudes displayed during this Olympics. The athletes from all countries seem to genuinely be cheering for and supporting each other. The atmosphere appears positive. I am not a big follower of the social media accounts for any of the U.S. gymnasts (I do not really understand instagram or tik tok since I am old) but I love that they are comfortable speaking up and out about all manner of things. I may not always agree with everything said or posted but I will take that any day over previous years where the gymnasts were expected to be perfect robots. I will also take assertive and confident over modesty and humbleness. I love seeing successful confident women on the Olympic stage.

This was not an attack on confident women. You can be confident, and assertive without taking part in the selfie stuff.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

What's wrong with selfies?

 

[Rose7777]

My daughter and I were watching an athlete (track, I think?) talking about doing it for his family, and she commented that she would be the one up there saying, “ Nope, I’m doing it for me. Not for my parents, not for my coaches, but for me. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and I do it because it brings me joy.”

That’s not to say she isn’t appreciative of her coaches’ hard work or our support- she very much is and expresses it regularly- but we’ve always said that it’s her sport and she should be doing it because *she* loves it. I’m guessing that’s the perspective that athletes are taking when they say that they’re doing it for themselves… and, honestly, competing at the highest level because it brings you joy is, to me, exactly the Olympic spirit.

This isn't not about not liking certain athletes for no reason, trash talking them, looking into their personal lives, etc. Many gymnasts use social media like twitter to reach out to fans and the world. I will say I mistakenly directed it towards many of our gymnasts when it's really just our country as a whole. I just don't like the selfie culture in America. I do not see why this is so terrible? I don't know if it exists in other countries as well which is why I directed it towards the country I live in, because I know what it's like here.

What I didn't like about Sunsia's post about "doing it for ourselves" is that this to me is not the Olympic spirit. I realize she's worked her entire life for this, and no I don't think she owes our country a gold medal but part of the Olympics is countries coming together peacefully and enjoying a competition between the best in the world. Whether it's gymnastics or track or swimming something I really dislike is when athletes or the people in charge of choosing them act like all their time didn't pay off, or the opposite when they win and act like everything has paid off because there is more to the Olympics than this. (and even if it's not the olympics, neither is true. There is a lot learned in gymnastics training whether you win or not) I think I was reading too much into her post though.

I am also not as big a fan of the US gymnastics because it seems like we pay too much attention to winning medals with difficulty and forgetting form and artistry. That doesn't mean I don't have respect for how difficult what they do is, or how hard they train.

I also don't hold it against anybody for being well off. This had nothing to do with Sunsia. I have no idea what her background is. This was more what I had seen with the Simone vs Herself. I do not hold this against Simone, and it could just be the way they portrayed her. They showed her living in this big fancy house acting like her life might be over if the Olympics didn't happen and that left me with a bad feeling. She has a lot to be grateful for and so much to live for other than gymnastics. I do not like the attitude in sports that winning and going to the Olympics are everything. I find that depressing.

I'm sorry if my thoughts are all over the place.

 

[CuriousCate]

Well I will try not to take anything written on the internet or in a documentary too much in one way. I will also try to remember all the embarrassing stupid stuff I did as a teenager and not hold it against them, but at the same time I appreciate the maturity of certain gymnasts. Perhaps social media is to blame for the teenage "look at me/us" stuff. Do you think the gymnasts of the 1992/96 team would have been this way if twitter and Facebook were around? Maybe it is also how American culture has changed over the years.

I think that yes, some of them might! Look at Shannon Miller - she posts about every little thing she does on Insta!

 

[Deleted member 26744]

Geoffrey - There are different types of selfies. For example if you're on vacation somewhere alone and you want to share a picture of yourself with where you were I think that's alright. It is the selfies where people are posing, and trying to look a certain way and posting them on the internet for others to see. To be so focused on your appearance to others, I think this is unhealthy.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Geoffrey - There are different types of selfies. For example if you're on vacation somewhere alone and you want to share a picture of yourself with where you were I think that's alright. It is the selfies where people are posing, and trying to look a certain way and posting them on the internet for others to see. To be so focused on your appearance to others, I think this is unhealthy.

I think wanting to look cool and share with others that you look cool is a perfectly normal human thing to do. And at an event like the Olympics, something that most people will never get to experience, posting pictures -- including selfies -- can provide fans with a window into the Olympian life that hasn't really existed until fairly recently.

I see selfies as a millennial/gen-z way of celebrating all the little things in life. Go to a cool place? Take a picture of yourself there! Hang with cool people? Get a picture with them! Eat some amazing food? Get a picture of it! I don't really see anything wrong with it; it's certainly not hurting anybody.

 

[mommyof1]

I am very glad that my generation didn't have the opportunity as teens and 20-somethings to broadcast our normal and developmentally appropriate yet potentially cringeworthy thoughts around the world to be dissected and ridiculed and preserved for posterity.

 

[gym_dad32608]

Seems like a lot of Boomers/Get off my lawn types on this thread. Posing and taking pictures of oneself is standard practice in todays world. Some post more than others, but all post. There is no correlation between posting selfies and not being humble. Or modest for that matter.

 

[Eleven sol]

Geoffrey - There are different types of selfies. For example if you're on vacation somewhere alone and you want to share a picture of yourself with where you were I think that's alright. It is the selfies where people are posing, and trying to look a certain way and posting them on the internet for others to see. To be so focused on your appearance to others, I think this is unhealthy.

By your line of reasoning, that person on vacation could appear to be bragging about their vacation to others who can’t afford to go on vacation. Younger people like to brag about looking cute; older people aren’t as cute so they have to brag about their vacations. Neither is particularly modest but I think it’s more about sharing which humans like to do.

 

[Aussie_coach]

In my opinion the difference between confidence and arrogance is in the way we treat others.

Its great to be confident, we should celebrate our successes and be proud to share them.

It crosses the line to arrogance when we do so by putting others down, hurting others etc.

I’ve always been one to cheer my own successes, but on the same token I have always been one to cheer other people’s successes too.

 

[txgymfan]

Exactly, which is why I like the Olympics, Wimbledon and watching the best of the best. Caleb Dressel is doing the media circuit and he seems sweet. Katie Ledecky immediately after swimming a mile ( and winning gold) recognized the US distance swimmers that didn’t get a chance to swim the event. I don’t know how she could think much less talk. Simone was cheering on her teammates when she couldn’t compete. That is the best part of sports.

 

[pt coach]

By your line of reasoning, that person on vacation could appear to be bragging about their vacation to others who can’t afford to go on vacation. Younger people like to brag about looking cute; older people aren’t as cute so they have to brag about their vacations. Neither is particularly modest but I think it’s more about sharing which humans like to do.

Ha ha I love this. I only share vacation/kid pictures and no selfies...I think you are on to something! I am not really into Instagram, but after reading this thread decided to check out a few of the Olympian's accounts. I didn't see anything shocking or that indicated a lack of modesty or humility. Just normal selfies and posts for that age group. In fact I only lasted a minute or two with my search before getting bored with the whole thing!

 

[bogwoppit]

By your line of reasoning, that person on vacation could appear to be bragging about their vacation to others who can’t afford to go on vacation. Younger people like to brag about looking cute; older people aren’t as cute so they have to brag about their vacations. Neither is particularly modest but I think it’s more about sharing which humans like to do.

Anyone who knows me in real life, and there are a few here, know that I love to travel, and I love to share travel pics on FB and IG. I have definitely contemplated the optics of sharing. Travel is a privilege, but I know my friends love seeing new places vicariously. I definitely am not a huge selfie person, but really there is little difference.

 

[Deleted member 26744]

There are some good points made one here. When I brought up vacations I was thinking of somebody like my brother who goes on solo road trips all the time. He's never posted any pictures of himself though. I was thinking of my mom and me alone in the mountains taking a picture of ourselves to have for a memory. I get what people are saying though.

When I talk about the selfie culture I mean people glamming it up and posing, trying to look a certain way for some kind of admiration or to get gratification from others. That is what I think is unhealthy. Somebody mentioned Shannon Miller on here and how she posts everything she does. I haven't been to her instagram. She has obviously had a lot of cosmetic surgery. I think the more people posting pictures of themselves trying to look pretty or hot, and the more people getting surgery the more others feel the need to do it. Imagine if we all just let ourselves age naturally, if we didn't feel the need to adjust ourselves to some sort of idea of beautiful in our mind or others minds. All this money for surgeries and all this time spent taking pictures of ourselves could go to something much better.

 

[Empowered]

Somebody mentioned Shannon Miller on here and how she posts everything she does. I haven't been to her instagram. She has obviously had a lot of cosmetic surgery

So in addition to being the arbiter for what makes a person humble and what constitutes a justifiable selfie or social media post, you've now proclaimed yourself an expert on identifying plastic surgery AND vilified that as well.

Your last few sentences... imagine we do this and that and do better things. Judgmental and self righteous much? Here's an idea. If it bothers you, don't look at it. Live your life the way you want and stop trying to project YOUR ideals onto others.

Man I did not want to feed the trolls on this thread but this post is a doozy.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Concurred.

If you don't approve of selfies, all you have to do is not take them. If you don't like an athlete's social media presence, all you have to do is unfollow them.

It just seems like such a weird thing to even bother caring about.

 

[Deleted member 26744]

So in addition to being the arbiter for what makes a person humble and what constitutes a justifiable selfie or social media post, you've now proclaimed yourself an expert on identifying plastic surgery AND vilified that as well.

Your last few sentences... imagine we do this and that and do better things. Judgmental and self righteous much? Here's an idea. If it bothers you, don't look at it. Live your life the way you want and stop trying to project YOUR ideals onto others.

Man I did not want to feed the trolls on this thread but this post is a doozy.

So in addition to being the arbiter for what makes a person humble and what constitutes a justifiable selfie or social media post, you've now proclaimed yourself an expert on identifying plastic surgery AND vilified that as well.

Your last few sentences... imagine we do this and that and do better things. Judgmental and self righteous much? Here's an idea. If it bothers you, don't look at it. Live your life the way you want and stop trying to project YOUR ideals onto others.

Man I did not want to feed the trolls on this thread but this post is a doozy.

I don't know if humble and modest were the right words. I don't claim to be perfect. I do things I regret all the time. All I am doing is sharing my thoughts that I am turned off by our society with so much selfie posting and cosmetic surgery. If this makes me self righteous and judgmental than fine. Maybe I am alone on here in feeling the way I do.

 

[Flippin'A]

During the beam final I saw a fantastic display of sportsmanship from both Simone and Suni as they cheered for each other as well as the Chinese gymnasts who took home medals. We could literally hear Simone screaming for Melnikova during the AA broadcast. They offered high fives and hugs to everyone after every routine. That displaces whatever "immodesty" they're showing by taking more selfies than strangers on the internet determine they're allowed to take. I personally don't spend time on their instagrams because it doesn't interest me very much. I doubt there's an 18-25 year old's instagram in the world I'd find particularly interesting. But they aren't obligated to post content that I find interesting. Those accounts are for them and they're allowed to post or not post whatever they want.

It's fine to discuss whether or not internet/selfie culture is having a negative impact on society. But when you bring up specific people and make claims about their character (which, intentional or not, is what comes across when words like "humble and modest" are brought into the mix) it gets personal and people are going to jump in to defend them. The beauty is you have no obligation to go on social media at all much less follow those people. If it makes you uncomfortable or unhappy, just opt out.

 

[Deleted member 26368]

I'm a very "anti-social social" media user. I don't post, only follow/occasionally reply to a few accounts - because talking about myself is just not something I do. I'm 45, though. I fully understand that a young Olympic-caliber gymnast, who has fans (as well as family/friends) would feel differently. I don't think this speaks to the character of these athletes. It's more of an acceptable cultural practice. I agree with others that it's been great to see Team USA support the other gymasts, and look like they enjoyed their Olympic experience.

And who among us wouldn't post a selfie or 2 after winning a high level competition??