197 - An Evaluation of Teens' Physical Activity Posts on Social Media

Publication Number: 4194.197

Lily E. Stratman, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Gabrielle E. Hon, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Ellen Selkie, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Christopher N. Cascio, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Qianqian Zhao, University of Wisconsin at Madison, ANN ARBOR, MI, United States; Megan A. Moreno, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Chelsea Olson, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, United States

Background: In 2023, only 51.9% and 24.6% of adolescents met the national guidelines for muscle-strengthening and aerobic exercise activities, respectively. Finding ways to encourage adolescents to maintain recommended levels of physical activity (PA) is essential. Social media is highly prevalent among youth and can motivate participation in PA behaviors. Prior studies of adolescents' social media posts have focused on risk behaviors such as alcohol and drug use. Little is known about how adolescents display PA on their social media profiles.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate adolescents' PA posts on social media and whether demographics were associated with displaying PA.

Design/Methods: Youth aged 13-15 from Wisconsin who used at least one social media platform were recruited using community-based approaches for this longitudinal content analysis study. Participants' social media profiles were followed by a study profile on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X. Trained coders evaluated the presence of PA (defined by clinical PA guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics) within social media posts prospectively over seven consecutive months. Four sub-categories of PA included: Sports and Fitness, Intermittent Exercise, Walking, and Nature (see Table 1). Demographics were collected in a baseline survey. Negative binomial models examined whether age, gender, or race/ethnicity predicted displaying behaviors.

Results: Our 315 participants were 53.02% female, 79.68% white, with a mean age of 13.89 (SD = 0.72). Most participants, 248 (78.7%), displayed PA posts on their profiles, with 234 (74.3%) displaying Sports and Fitness, 84 (26.7%) displaying Intermittent Exercise, 98 (31.1%) displaying Walking, and 67 (21.3%) displaying Nature. The number of PA posts by participants who displayed PA was a media of 10 over 7 months (IQR: 5 - 20.5); see Table 2 for sub-category posts. Females displayed 1.95 times more PA posts than males (95% CI = 1.38 - 2.77, p=0.0002) and 1.99 times more than other genders (95% CI =1.18 - 3.35, p=0.01). Age and race/ethnicity were not associated with the likelihood of displaying PA.

Conclusion(s): These findings provide a baseline understanding of PA posting behavior. It is common for adolescents, especially females, to post on their social media profiles about PA. Adolescents' displays of PA may be indicative of their offline participation in PA, as represented by the large majority of posts referencing organized sports. Future research could examine associations.

Table 1. Description and examples of sub-categories of physical activity posts evaluated on social media profiles of 13-15-year-old Wisconsin participants


Table 2. Demographics of sample of 13-15-year-old participants from Wisconsin and characteristics of physical activity posts