Amber Glenn Reacts to World Champion Ilia Malinin’s Upcoming Program Revealing Social Media’s Dark Side

Ilia Malinin recently revealed his intentions, as well as the dark side of social media, ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics. The current world champion is aiming for a grand Olympic debut in figure skating.

Malinin recently qualified in style for the Winter Olympics scheduled to be held from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22. The quadrennial event will be held in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Amber Glenn and Other Skaters Cheer Ilia Malinin for His Bold Stance on Social Media

Malinin shared a reel of his preparations for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on his Instagram account. The 21-year-old world champion figure skater wrote in the descriptive post,

“In the age of the internet expansion, the role social media plays on mental health includes correlations of heightened anxiety, depression, loneliness, thoughts of self-harm, poor sleep quality, increased levels of psychological distress, and lower life satisfaction. The virtual world can be noisy, isolating, and cruel.”

The figure skater further talked about the need to overcome the self-loathing as he added,

“Figure skating brings the extraordinary ability to connect deeply with an audience, both live and online. But a dark side emerges from the digital animosity masked as harmless opinion. As a byproduct of social media hostility, self-doubt fills the human mind. Self-hatred fills the human mind. All elite athletes and artists under a spotlight experience this in some capacity, yet may be fearful to speak out. But this part of reality needs to be uncovered too. Spread the word and repost.”

READ MORE: Complete List of Athletes Selected in US Figure Skating Team for the 2026 Winter Olympics Featuring Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu

Several teammates supported the figure skater in this noble initiative. Amber Glenn, who won the US Championships recently in the female category, wrote in the comment section,

“Proud of you.”

Audrey Shin also cheered for Malinin as she wrote,

“Yes yes yes always proud of u ilia, my og since day 1!”

Even triathlete Raymond Braun chipped in as he commented,

“So appreciate you utilizing your platform to speak about mental health and the experience of athletes. We’re behind you and supporting you every step! Excited to see what you’re building.”

Malinin has been a figure skating sensation ever since he won the Junior World Championships in 2022. He subsequently won gold medals at the World Team Trophy, the senior World Championships, and the US National Championships. It would be interesting to see if he adds an Olympic gold medal to his collection on debut.