Robin Pickering, Whitworth University – Social Media and Exercise Motivation

Does viewing social media make you hit the gym?

Robin Pickering, associate professor of health sciences at Whitworth University, looks into this question.

Robin Pickering is currently an Associate Professor of Health Sciences specializing in Community Health at Whitworth University in Spokane Washington.  Her research interests include women’s health issues, exercise self-efficacy, and the impact of social media on health risk behaviors. She currently serves as a member of the Women and Gender Studies Committee at Whitworth University and the advisory board for the Eastern Washington University Alumni magazine, as well as a contributor for several local media publications. She has served as the Vice Chair of the Board for the Spokane AIDS Network, Program Director of Community Health at Eastern Washington University (EWU), and steering committee member for the Masters in Public Health degree for EWU. Robin received her PhD in Education with an emphasis on Health, Psychology, and Adult Education, a master’s degree in Exercise Science and Pedagogy, and a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and Wellness.  She has also served on the board for Early Head Start, The Spokane Birth Outcome Task Force, and on various other committees committed to promoting community health.  Robin is a certified Wellness Coach and currently serves as a Personal Development Consultant specializing in Sexual Assault Prevention for the Spokane Chiefs (a local hockey team) and has instructed yoga in the community for 16 years.

Social Media and Exercise Motivation

Social media use among US adults has increased by nearly tenfold in the last decade. But what does that mean for our physical health?

The impact of increased social media exposure interests many researchers. Early studies indicate both positive and negative potential effects on a variety of factors directly and indirectly influencing health including: political deliberation, news consumption, parenting, stress, body image, and communication patterns. Another factor worthy of exploration is the impact of social media on exercise behavior.

Although benefits of regular exercise are well documented, 80% of American adults do not reach the minimum recommendations for exercise.

It is possible that the increased time spent using social media sites may negatively impact our exercise behaviors, both by limiting available time to exercise and by changing how we think about our ability to effectively exercise despite barriers in our lives – that’s a concept known as “exercise self-efficacy.” Our exercise efficacy may be impacted by repeated exposure to “fit ideal” images featured on many social media platforms.

Numerous studies focusing on the impact of print ads, television, and billboards, suggest that increased exposure to media depicting the female “fit ideal” may be linked to decreased body satisfaction, decreased physical activity, and negative self-image in women – which can have a negative impact on likelihood to engage in exercise.  Characteristics of social media imagery may be even more powerful due to frequency of exposure, use of image enhancing technology, and the fact that images are more likely to be of “regular people” who may be perceived as more relatable to the consumer.

Results of my research in this area indicate that immediate exposure to “fit ideal” images though social media outlets among females may negatively impact some behavioral antecedents to exercise behavior including: body image, body comparison, envy, and some components of exercise self-efficacy.