Digital Identity

This study employed a phenomenological analysis using an interpretive approach to explore the lived experiences of disabled athletes' social media presence, focusing on meaning-making processes and subjective interpretations of their digital engagement. The research involved 15 participants and Data collection utilized semi-structured in-depth interviews lasting 45-60 minutes, conducted face-to-face or via video conferencing, with analysis following phenomenological principles that resulted in 287 semantic propositions being reduced to 96 semantic units, then 13 subordinate themes, and finally five principal themes include Identity Reconstruction in Digital Space, Confronting Discriminatory Structures, Social Relationship Dynamics, Psychological and Emotional Experiences, and Resistance and Action Strategies—demonstrating that social media serves as a complex terrain where disabled athletes simultaneously experience unprecedented opportunities for self-representation and community building while confronting persistent discrimination and developing sophisticated coping mechanisms, challenging simplistic narratives about technology as either purely liberating or oppressive for marginalized communities.