Advantages and disadvantages of technology

Technology brings benefits to sport, but it also brings disadvantages. Sometimes the technology needs to be embedded and improved before it is fully effective, often the problems only emerge after time.

These tables highlight some of the advantages and disadvantages of technology in sport.

For athletes

Advantages	Disadvantages
Better performance – marginal gains make the difference	Invades privacy
Better medical care results in fewer injuries or faster recovery from injury	Blurs lines between personal and professional time
Feedback from coaches is more focused, objective and helpful	Availability and cost – makes sport and success exclusive to wealthy people and countries
Improved kit is more comfortable, more efficient and safer	Tempts athletes and coaches into cheating or unfair practices
Part of a team, not isolated	Puts the sole focus on winning not athletic endeavour

Advantages	Better performance – marginal gains make the difference
Disadvantages	Invades privacy

Advantages	Better medical care results in fewer injuries or faster recovery from injury
Disadvantages	Blurs lines between personal and professional time

Advantages	Feedback from coaches is more focused, objective and helpful
Disadvantages	Availability and cost – makes sport and success exclusive to wealthy people and countries

Advantages	Improved kit is more comfortable, more efficient and safer
Disadvantages	Tempts athletes and coaches into cheating or unfair practices

Advantages	Part of a team, not isolated
Disadvantages	Puts the sole focus on winning not athletic endeavour

For officials

Advantages	Disadvantages
Supports team approach so there is less pressure on individuals	Slows the game
Information can be shared easily and quickly and stored over time	Not available at all levels of competition
Decisions and scoring are more reliable and accurate	No longer trust people's decisions
There is increased confidence and trust in officials	Undermines respect for officials' knowledge and expertise
	Undermines honesty, integrity and the spirit of fair play

Advantages	Supports team approach so there is less pressure on individuals
Disadvantages	Slows the game

Advantages	Information can be shared easily and quickly and stored over time
Disadvantages	Not available at all levels of competition

Advantages	Decisions and scoring are more reliable and accurate
Disadvantages	No longer trust people's decisions

Advantages	There is increased confidence and trust in officials
Disadvantages	Undermines respect for officials' knowledge and expertise

Advantages
Disadvantages	Undermines honesty, integrity and the spirit of fair play

For spectators

Advantages	Disadvantages
More engaged in the sport	Detracts from actual play
More informed about rules, players etc	Reduces the atmosphere at live events
Have a direct link to athletes	Reduces interest in grass roots events that aren't supported by technology
	Increases spectator/broadcaster costs
	Enables trolls to attack individual athletes

Advantages	More engaged in the sport
Disadvantages	Detracts from actual play

Advantages	More informed about rules, players etc
Disadvantages	Reduces the atmosphere at live events

Advantages	Have a direct link to athletes
Disadvantages	Reduces interest in grass roots events that aren't supported by technology

Advantages
Disadvantages	Increases spectator/broadcaster costs

Advantages
Disadvantages	Enables trolls to attack individual athletes

For sport generally

Advantages	Disadvantages
Increases participation	Detracts from intensity of physical activity
Promotes new and alternative opportunities	Reduces emotional wellbeing that comes from escaping digital pressures/routines
Supports less-wealthy sports to promote themselves	Increases costs to sports and participants
Leads to more coverage and revenue	Sponsors more interested in technology than sport or athletes
Adds glamour
Improves safety

Advantages	Increases participation
Disadvantages	Detracts from intensity of physical activity

Advantages	Promotes new and alternative opportunities
Disadvantages	Reduces emotional wellbeing that comes from escaping digital pressures/routines

Advantages	Supports less-wealthy sports to promote themselves
Disadvantages	Increases costs to sports and participants

Advantages	Leads to more coverage and revenue
Disadvantages	Sponsors more interested in technology than sport or athletes

Advantages	Adds glamour
Disadvantages

Advantages	Improves safety
Disadvantages

Impact of technology on coaches

A coach will need to have access to high end technology in order to help their sports people to train and perform at their highest level. This means coaches will need to stay up to date with current technology and be able to afford the required equipment. This means that coaches working with organisations that have a lot of money are going to be able to help to support their athletes to get to higher performance levels compared to coaches working with organisations with lower incomes which have less money to spend on technology.

Question

Identify one benefit and one problem of using technology to support disabled performers in sport.

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Technology in sport - WJECAdvantages and disadvantages of technology