Resource Mobilization’s Effect on the Social Construction of Identity on Twitter: A Case Study of J.J. Watt’s Hurricane Harvey Relief

Abstract

Social media provides an area for athletes to engage with a mass audience and, in turn, has users create a narrative about the athlete in a collaborative effort. Using a platform, such as Twitter, offers numerous affordances for network interactions, which result in the shaping of online identities. Gaining insight into how resource mobilization impacts dialog and identity construction of an athlete is essential as sports have the unique ability to reach and influence a broad audience. This article explores how J.J. Watt used resource mobilization on Twitter to aid the Hurricane Harvey relief, and how his identity was socially constructed over a 3-year period. Based on a textual analysis of 2,965 tweets, the results show that Watt was able to use his celebrity status and active involvement to achieve the largest crowdsourced fundraiser in history. Further, Watt’s actions transformed his identity as a football player into a humanitarian.