Home-based workouts in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: the influence of Fitness YouTubers' attributes on intentions to exercise

Abstract

PurposeHome-based workouts via fitness YouTube channels have become more popular during the pandemic era. However, few studies have examined the role of social media personae related to intention to exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the structural relationships between fitness YouTuber attributes: perceived physical attractiveness (PPA), perceived social attractiveness (PSA), perceived similarity (PS), parasocial relationships (PSRs), wishful identification (WI), physical outcome expectations (POEs), and continuous intention to work out with fitness YouTubers (CIWFY).Design/methodology/approachThis study considered fitness YouTube channel viewers as the unit of analysis. An online survey was conducted to empirically develop and test the research model using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe SEM empirical findings revealed that the PSRs were significantly influenced by PSA, PPA, and PS. Also, WI was significantly affected by PPA and PS. Furthermore, POEs were significantly impacted by PPA and PSRs. POEs affected the CIWFY. Lastly, PSRs and POEs mediated the influence of PSA and PPA on the CIWFY.Originality/valueThe psychological impacts of exercising to online fitness videos in the era of COVID-19, with its untact (no contact) social norms is timely. The study model demonstrated the fitness YouTube viewers' cognitive path from perceptions toward fitness YouTubers' attributes to behavioral intention. To be specific, the current study demonstrated how three attribution types (i.e. PPA, PSA, and PS) of fitness YouTubers affect viewers' PSRs and WI with fitness YouTubers, along with POEs and CIWFY. Along with health practitioners, fitness YouTubers who want to captivate viewers on their channels might need to consider self-attributes from their viewers' standpoint and should build psychological bonding with viewers.

An empirical evaluation of the predictors and consequences of social media health-misinformation seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Finally, the authors of this study presented H7, in which they claimed that a positive and significant mediating/indirect relationship exists between peer influence (independent factor) and social media users' anxiety (dependent variable) by dint of social media healthmisinformation seeking behavior which acts as a mediating variable. In previous studies, while examining individuals' online behavior during COVID-19, scholars have identified that individuals frequently share their pessimistic feelings, thoughts and ideas on their social network accounts (Lobato et al, 2020), which may result in misinformed healthcare behaviors and consequences such as fear of multiple organs failure among the peers, followers, friends, colleague and so forth (Kim et al, 2023). Furthermore, the peer influence Healthmisinformation seeking behavior has been highlighted in previous healthcare studies by identifying its importance that more than 60% of American adults seek online health tips and information from their peers, family members and close groups, particularly during a health emergency or serious health issues (Fox and Duggan, 2013).…”

“…Scholars investigated the effects of misinformation on social media during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. They found that people exposed to online misinformation are more likely to engage in self-reported misinformed behaviors like regularly rinsing their noses with saline and eating more garlic (Kim et al, 2023). However, they are less likely to engage in evidence-based prevention behaviors like staying isolated and maintaining social distancing.…”

“…Chen and Fu (2022) noted that the WHO considers this phenomenon an “infodemic” in which the COVID-19-related fake online health information caused more damage globally than the COVID-19 itself. This issue has recently gained more attention from stakeholders such as the health industry, social media platforms and academics (Zhou et al , 2021; Chen and Fu, 2022; Kim et al , 2023). Therefore, it has become an urgent focus of the latest research to understand the role of social media in influencing people's decisions to seek or share misinformation during health crises, such as the spread of COVID-19, as scientific research has identified that it has a large number of mutations in the spike protein, which may allow it to evade the immune response generated by previous infections (Carabelli et al , 2023).…”

Exploring the Influence of YouTube on Digital Health Literacy and Health Exercise Intentions: The Role of Parasocial Relationships

“…Similarly, Ref. [44] reported that the formation of parasocial relationships based on the perceived physical attractiveness, social attractiveness, and similarity of trainers in YouTube home training positively influences the continuous intention to exercise. Further, Ref.…”

Do Chinese viewers watch e-sports games for a different reason? Motivations, attitude, and team identification in predicting e-sports online spectatorship

“…Streamer-oriented attributes refer to the personality traits and characteristics of streamers perceived by the audience, such as perceived social attractiveness ( Kim H.-M. et al, 2023 ), perceived similarity ( Kim H.-M. et al, 2023 ) and streamer skills ( Kim and Kim, 2023 ). Technology-oriented attributes refer to the attributes of live-streaming platforms, live-streaming apps and over-the-top (OTT) services, such as ease of use ( Wang et al, 2021 ), viewing quality ( Xu et al, 2023 ) and stream quality ( Qian et al, 2020a ).…”