Evaluating the Impact of Fitness Social Media Influencers on Exercise Addiction in College Women Aged 18-25
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Date
2024-05-23
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Authors
Darby, Leah Sky
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Abstract
Introduction: The modern landscape of social media has allowed for limitless connection between technology users and overwhelming and broad sweeping access to information and data. The vast landscape of social media has also allowed for very in-depth and specific niche communities, such as fitness communities on Tik Tok and Instagram, sometimes referred to as “fitstagram” and “fit tok.” Social media influencers, or those who make a living by generating a following on social media by creating a specific kind of content, hold the most power within these specific social media communities simply by having built a following. In recent years, a phenomenon known as exercise addiction or dependency has become increasingly common, specifically in young women. Exercise addiction is a dependance on exercise or compulsion to exercise often. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between college-aged women and their relationship to social media influencers and how that changes the way they perceive and engage in exercise, including their goals, habits, exercise routines and their habits on social media.
Methods: Data was collected using an online Qualtrics survey. All study collection procedures were approved by East Carolina University’s Institutional Review Board. Participants were recruited based on enrollment at a higher education institution, identifying as female in the age range of 18-25. Participants were recruited through word of mouth as well as social media advertising and were incentivized with a $10 Amazon gift card to participate. Participants were asked self-reported demographic questions, open-ended questions about exercise habits and feelings about exercise, and the survey employed the Exercise Addiction Inventory, a six-item inventory that uses a Likert scale to assess thoughts and feelings about exercise.
Results: Out of the data collected from 78 respondents, the average BMI was 26.37 ± 6.5 kg/m2, eighteen respondents identified as freshman, 18 as sophomores, 8 as juniors, 13 as seniors, and 20 as graduate students. The average age of respondents was 21 ± 2.23 years old. Nearly 34% (33.7%) of respondents identified as being a part of a collegiate Greek council. Approximately 4% (3.8%) of respondents identified as Asian, 5.2% of respondents identified as black or African American, 89.6% of respondents identified as white or Caucasian, and finally 3.8% of respondents identified as other, or chose not to respond. When asked about the types of activities performed most often, 42 out of 77 respondents reported focusing on cardio-based activities. When asked if they believed themselves to be easily influenced by users on social media, 34 responded with definitely or probably yes, and 18 responded with maybe, totaling 52 out of 77 respondents. When asked an open-ended question about feelings associated with missing or skipping a workout, there were overwhelmingly negative words and phrases used, for example “guilty,” “disappointed,” or “stressed and anxious” from 43 out of 77 responses. More positively, 57 out of 77 respondents report consistently eating three or more meals a day, therefore receiving adequate nutrition, and responses about social media content reported following cooking trends on social media among other well-known influencer handles, some fitness related and others not.
Discussion:
Findings show that young, college-aged women within the ages of 18-25 are at a higher risk for exercise dependent behaviors due to the current nature of social media and pressure to follow trends. Public health implications of these findings are that social media is a major factor that contributes to these exercise dependent behaviors, and these behaviors put college aged women at a higher risk for poor mental health which can have negative effects that carry through adulthood and effect overall social, physical, and mental health. The strengths of this study are the questions asked regarding habits and feelings about exercise, as the data is deep and extensive including the questions asked within the exercise addiction inventory, while the limitations of the study are that respondents were not asked about specific influencers or hashtags, so habits cannot be traced to a specific creator or online community. Based on the findings, future practical implications could be increased monitoring on social media for proven information, more emphasis on mental health in women at routine medical appointments, and increased conversation regarding exercise and health in schools. Future research should focus on the negative mental health effects and exercise behaviors caused by specific fitness influencers, and the difference between those influencers, as this research did not focus on specific social media content creators.