New Study Highlights Strategies Aimed to Boost Health in a Social Media-Driven Era
A new study has found that effective health communication on social media demands a sophisticated understanding of how visual storytelling and social engagement metrics work together to influence behavior.
The findings by Yuan Sun, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Advertising assistant professor, University of Georgia Assistant Professor Nicholas Eng, Taylor Vasquez, Ph.D. 2024, and former Penn State Professor Jessica Gall Myrick are featured in “A Picture is Worth a Thousand ‘Likes:’ Examining the Effects of Social Media Content Type and Social Norm Cues on Workout Intentions” published in Health Communications on March 28.
The authors examined how image-based social media holds significant potential for promoting physical activity given their visually appealing content alongside social endorsement metrics such as “likes.” They reviewed how fitspo, a type of social media content that aims to inspire physical fitness and promote healthy habits, often with a focus on achieving a certain body image, impacted their results.
According to the authors, “Our experimental study demonstrated that before-and-after fitspo can enhance the perceived trustworthiness of influencers and evoke feelings of inspiration, which in turn, lead to increased intentions to work out. Additionally, we found that when before-and-after comparison posts receive a higher number of likes, perceived subjective norms and feelings of inspiration are heightened, contributing to stronger intentions to engage in physical activity.”
They add, “These findings illuminate the intricate interplay between content presentation and platform-specific affordances in the fitness domain. This research also offers valuable insights for designing effective health interventions and strategies aimed at enhancing health and well-being in a cue-rich digital era.”
Category: College News
Tagged: Advertising Social Media Yuan Sun
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