A perspective from one of McMaster’s most recognized student-athletes on being perceived by others in the athlete spotlight
The McMaster men’s volleyball team has been characterized by winning. They are the reigning Ontario University Athletics champions and have been for the past three years.
The team’s success has in part granted them an increase in popularity. The Marauders men’s team is no stranger to selling out their home gym, the Burridge Gym, with many students attending the team’s games.
Maxime Gratton, a fifth-year outside hitter for the team, spoke about the experience of seeing the amount of people who attend the team’s games.
“There was a massive boom, regular season games were selling out. So you can't deny that there's people watching. I was lucky because I was one of the leaders on the court and I was playing pretty well," said Gratton.
Gratton discussed how the consistently large turnout of fans has helped to fuel him and his team in the previous year.
"On the court, when I was playing it was fun, it was fueling me. It was like people care about this, it's awesome. From my perspective I spent so much time struggling with this sport, I've had a really tough time with this sport. It's an up and down relationship for me, but last year was a breath of fresh air,” said Gratton.
The team's success and resulting popularity have led to individual players becoming popular amongst McMaster students. Gratton is no exception to this.
Gratton has been a key player for the Marauders. He has racked up numerous accolades such as OUA Rookie of the Year, OUA First Team All Star and USport’s First Team All Star.
These distinctions have granted him popularity in other areas, specifically on social media. Gratton has one of the highest Instagram follower counts of all current McMaster athletes, sitting at about 4,000 followers. He is also often featured on the team’s social media pages, which receive many views and likes.
Despite his social media presence, Gratton actually sees himself as quite reserved. He reflected on how different his life was growing up, compared to the life that has come with university volleyball.
“Until I went into university, I was very reserved and I was very introverted and kind of in my own world. Then, coming here and last year having all these eyes because, we had that going for the first two years, but it wasn't as big as when it really hit last year. That was something I really struggled with," said Gratton.
Gratton told the Silhouette that he reflects on how with all of this attention, many students likely have preconceived ideas about him without even knowing him personally.
“I have this sense that there are a lot of predisposed ideas of who I am, before actually getting to know me. I mean I guess it's whatever, because you know people talk, it is what it is. But yeah, I would agree with you that there's a sense that some people have made up their minds on some aspects of who I am," said Gratton.
“I have this sense that there are a lot of predisposed ideas of who I am, before actually getting to know me. I mean I guess it's whatever, because you know people talk, it is what it is."
Maxime Gratton, Fifth-Year Outside Hitter
McMaster Men's Volleyball Team
Many viral videos on social media feature Gratton's explosive playing style and high-energy celebrations. However, Gratton feels the player on the screen is not an indication of who he is day-to-day.
"When I play for example, I'm very, I call it, passionate. But it comes across as sometimes I'm very angry or some people can say that I'm a hothead or stuff like that. There's all these things, where when I'm outside of the court, I'm actually quite calm and I'm much more chill. I promise, it's just that the sport kind of brings that out of me and so that's an example of people maybe saying “oh really, you're not angry all the time.” I'm like, no, I'm not angry all the time." It's not who I am outside of the court. So yeah, there are some predisposed kinds of biases, I guess. But again, I just view it as normal and there's nothing you can really do about it,” said Gratton.
Gratton also reflected on how the thoughts of students who don't even know him have affected him. While this used to bother him, he feels as though he can better navigate these situations now.
"Some things that I was hearing were very nice, but there were also some things that I was hearing that messed with me, because they were taken out of context or sometimes just straight-up lies that are being told by people and in a harmful way . . . it was becoming kind of a problem, for me, just because I didn't know how to navigate this,” said Gratton.
Gratton shared that he feels his popularity with the student body has led people to view him as a persona, rather than a whole person.
“Like I said already, like this objective I think since some people view me as a superficial persona, then they're gonna treat me as such, then it's gonna be a little difficult for me to open up to them, or for them to open up to me,” said Gratton.
However, his rise as a popular student-athlete has not been entirely negative. Gratton described how people knowing him from sport has also helped him outside of his athletic career.
“It's facilitated me connecting with people because like let's say people do know that I'm on the volleyball team then I feel like they already know a pretty big part of my life. I've made some friends who the only thing they knew about me before was me playing volleyball and then coming from a background where I was a bit more isolated. It is like there's something to build from. It can be used as something a bit more superficial about me that we can build from. But then from there, we can branch out and actually I can get to know you, they can get to know me, on a different level,” said Gratton.
As Gratton continues his career at McMaster, he has gained a unique perspective from his time as a student-athlete.
Short videos are changing how we think, spend and unwind, especially as students and young adults
Anyone with access to the internet would likely by now have come across some variant of short-form content.
Whether through YouTube shorts, Spotify, or Instagram Reels, the infamous TikTok-style algorithm and short videos have made their mark on our generation. From the way we think, consume, unwind and spend time, your algorithm might have more of a say in your life than you realize.
The recent short-lived ban on TikTok in the United States was more than just a regulatory decision. It highlighted how ingrained short-form content has become in our routines. It’s not just a way to pass the time. It shapes our attention spans, spending habits and even the way we engage with information.
As platforms like YouTube and Instagram continue to push short-form videos, entertainment is shifting from deep and immersive experiences to rapid, fleeting interactions.
A key distinction between traditional longer video consumption and platforms like TikTok is that they rely on user agency.
For example, on YouTube, users intentionally search for and select videos, maintaining a degree of awareness and control over their viewing experience. While recommended content is influenced by viewing history, users still engage with the platform through deliberate choices.
In contrast, TikTok almost completely dictates what users see, leveraging an algorithm that continuously curates content without requiring active selection. Even when users scroll past videos they are uninterested in, they are still subjected to brief exposure, passively consuming information.
TikTok almost completely dictates what users see, leveraging an algorithm that continuously curates content without requiring active selection.
In this system, consumers' interactions, responses and viewing durations are meticulously tracked and analyzed to suggest content to them to keep them watching. Ultimately, user control is significantly diminished.
Furthermore, the interface design of short-form media fosters a distinct shift in advertising strategies, creating a stark contrast with YouTube’s approach.
On YouTube, promotional content is typically integrated within longer videos, either as brief ad clips, sponsorships aligned with a creator’s niche, or advertisements placed at the end of a video. While these methods can still be persuasive, they at least offer viewers the opportunity to recognize promotional material within the videos they are watching.
TikTok, however, introduces a far more deceptive form of pushing consumerism.
Due to the rapid nature of short-form content, advertisements are seamlessly embedded within everyday videos, often making it difficult to distinguish between organic content and paid promotions.
Adding to their questionable marketing, the sheer volume of views that can be made on a single paid promotion in a short period creates the illusion of widespread popularity. When multiple influencers showcase a similar product, it appears popular and desirable, reinforcing the perception of its legitimacy.
The very nature of short-form media discourages critical engagement. Instead of scrutinizing content, viewers are more likely to watch passively, glance at the comment section and then continue scrolling.
The very nature of short-form media discourages critical engagement. Instead of scrutinizing content, viewers are more likely to watch passively, glance at the comment section and then continue scrolling.
Given that platforms like TikTok are predominantly used for leisure or to de-stress, especially by students, very few users take the time to apply critical media-literacy skills in an environment designed for quick, fleeting engagement.
I am not against the occasional grumpy cat videos, but with young adults being the main target demographic for platforms like TikTok, our consumer habits drive the future of media. Recognizing these patterns and fostering digital literacy is and will be essential in navigating a landscape increasingly driven by instant gratification and commercialization.
By: Lauren Olsen
Last January, McMaster University’s president Patrick Deane took a stand and banned all forms of smoking on school grounds, making McMaster Ontario's first 100 per cent tobacco and smoke free campus. This included banning the on-campus use of cigarettes, cigars, hookah, pot and most importantly, the ever-popular vape pens.
The ban on campus was a welcome sight for those opposed to tobacco, however, the ineffectiveness of enforcing this policy rendered the ban as a bland suggestion rather than a legitimate rule.
You can witness this phenomenon simply by walking around campus. You won’t make it far before encountering students vaping in direct violation of the McMaster ‘ban’, with their discretion being non-existent. Students can be found vaping in classrooms, lecture halls, residences and around campus.
Recently, there was an opening of the 180 Smoke Vape Shop in Westdale which will only further support and make accessible the habits of smokers. The store offers everything including e-cigarettes, vape juice, pens and portable vaporizers, and is located just a short walk from McMaster University.
They are attracting not only smokers who may be trying to quit, but others who lack the proper information about the hazards associated with vaping, and may only be concerned with becoming part of the current trend. They are promoting this product as a commercialized, socially-acceptable activity rather than a helpful addiction quitting strategy for tobacco smokers.
For McMaster students, it’s just a short stroll to a readily-available addiction which is now a booming industry. According to BBC News, the number of vapers has increased rapidly — from about seven million in 2011 to 35 million in 2016. The global vaping products market is now estimated to be worth up to $22.6 billion USD.
The rapid growth of the industry is not a victimless development. New products need new users and stores like 180 Smoke Vape Shop will likely be getting their customer base from McMaster.
Other than perpetuating the ‘look’ and fueling the industry, students are playing with fire and risking addiction. Although e-cigarettes do not contain any tar, carbon monoxide or other chemicals found in tobacco smoke, they still mimic the familiar action of a smoker and can be addictive. What used to be a method to quit is now becoming a method to start, and making smoking acceptable again.
The smoking population who are slowly cutting back their nicotine addiction to quit smoking have made way for the young adults who are peer-pressured by the new “cool” thing to do and, in turn, are becoming dependent on the addictive drug.
Harvard Health Publishing describes the side effects of vaping to include the potential of diabetes, loss of impulse control, impairment of brain development and elevated heart rate and blood pressure. Thus, the antidote is quickly becoming the poison.
I am not advocating that McMaster shutdown 180 Smoke Vape Shop, or campaign to influence public policy. Rather, the university should enforce the very rule they promised in early 2018, in order to make McMaster a safer environment and community.
Creating a ban was a novel idea, but not following is more than just lazy enforcement — it is potentially dangerous to student health.
More and more youth will be exposed and persuaded to try vaping, which easily perpetuates an addiction whose lasting health implications are still being determined. Moreover, the campus itself is not an inviting space with smoke billowing from its hallways and paths. It’s time to inhale the future and start enforcing the smoking ban on campus.
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