While Simone Biles Continues Struggle With Online Hate, Best Friend Jordan Chiles Uses Another Way to Tackle Social Media

While Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles are best friends and teammates, the two elite gymnasts have vastly different approaches to dealing with the negative side of social media fame. Biles has been open about her struggles with online hate and harassment, which have taken a serious toll on her mental health at times. Chiles, on the other hand, simply opt out of engaging with internet trolls entirely.

The 23-year-old described herself as someone who “just dislikes social media, like all the way” in a recent interview. In contrast to the typical behavior of her generation, Chiles is not one to be found endlessly scrolling through her phone. This statement might come as a surprise to those familiar with her vibrant personality and dance skills showcased on TikTok and Instagram.

While her high-profile status as an athlete necessitates maintaining a social media presence, she refuses to let online trolls, whom she refers to as “bully bots,” diminish her joy. She combats the negativity by reminding herself that her harshest critics lack the capabilities she possesses.

While Biles has admirably used her platform to raise awareness around athlete mental health issues caused by cyberbullying, Chiles prefers to block out the noise completely. “At the end of the day, you are not flipping on a 4-inch piece of wood. You are not tumbling hard.”

She continued to describe her training routine and said, brushing off her online critics, “you’re not swinging your own body weight around and waking up at 5:45 in the morning to get to practice at 7. Like, you go and try to do everything that I’m doing.“

As the two phenoms prepare to potentially compete as teammates again at the 2024 Paris Olympics, their contrasting mindsets, when it comes to social media, highlight how every athlete must find a way to preserve their psyche in an age of online toxicity. While Biles continues advocating for change, Chiles simply tunes it all out through sheer force of will.

Simone Biles shares struggles on social media hate

With remarks on a podcast “Call Her Daddy“, Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens unintentionally ignited a social media wind that resulted in a barrage of hatred aimed at Jonathan Owens. Even with her powerful public presence, Biles acknowledged feeling overwhelmed. She acknowledged that the continual dislike caused her to cry.

“I’ve been in the limelight long enough where I can brush things off, have my little powwow about it,“ the 27-year-old remarked. “You’re not gonna know. I cried about it, but I’d be crying about some stuff, you know?“ Even with the tears, there was a strong sense of helplessness and tremendous annoyance with the constant disapproval on the internet. “But I’m also, I only cry about it because I can’t clap back. Just know that,” she continued.

This reveals that beneath her public persona is a woman battling the demands of notoriety and scrutiny from the public, aware that her response can incite a backlash from ardent supporters. However, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles have different methods of coping and distinct personalities, which are reflected in how they use social media. While Chiles tunes out the clamor and makes use of it, Biles, despite her tears and frustration, manages to rise above the negativity.