Motivations, barriers, and social media volume usage influence on exercise Similarities and differences between college athletes and nonathletes
Main Article Content
Abstract
Exercise contributes to a healthy lifestyle. Nonetheless, many people are insufficiently active. This study investigated exercise motivation, barriers to exercise, and the impact of social media volume usage among 18-25 year olds from a Midwestern university (USA). Data was collected via survey. Overall, the sample noted the psychological and fitness sub models and the positive health and strength and endurance subscales to be most important. There was a significant difference between college athletes and nonathletes for two sub models and seven subscales. College athletes noted time constraints and nonathletes noted their lack of motivation and time constraints (equally) as top barriers. Overall, the primary barriers to exercise were rated as less impactful (p < .001) by the college athletes (45.3 ± 34.2) compared to nonathletes (69.2 ± 28.3). Social media usage was prevalent in our sample, and it might be differentially impacting users. Highest-volume users rated barriers to be more impactful than lowest-volume users (p = .035). Social media is a current-culture culprit that helps “not enough time” persist as a key barrier to exercise. The impacts of social media on fitness and activity need further investigation.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Each author warrants that his or her submission to the Work is original and that he or she has full power to enter into this agreement. Neither this Work nor a similar work has been published elsewhere in any language nor shall be submitted for publication elsewhere while under consideration by Journal of Human Sport and Exercise (JHSE). Each author also accepts that the JHSE will not be held legally responsible for any claims of compensation.
Authors wishing to include figures or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright holder(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.
Please include at the end of the acknowledgements a declaration that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed. The editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the abovementioned requirements. The author(s) will be held responsible for false statements or failure to fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.
This title is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
-
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
-
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
- You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
- No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
How to Cite
References
Buckworth, J., Lee, R. E., Regan, G., Schneider, L. K., & DiClemente, C. C. (2007). Decomposing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for exercise: Application to stages of motivational readiness. Psychol Sport Exerc, 8(4), 441-461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2006.06.007
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States (NCHS Data Brief No. 443). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db443.pdf
Cowley, E. S., Watson, P. M., Foweather, L., Belton, S., Thompson, A., Thijssen, D., & Wagenmakers, A. J. (2021). "Girls aren't meant to exercise": Perceived influences on physical activity among adolescent girls-the HERizon project. Children, 8(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8010031
Davis, D. W., Garver, M. J., Thomas, J., Navalta, J. W., Siegel, S., Reece, J. D., & Maples, J. M. (2024). How an IJES Working Group Grappled with the Complexities of Three Letters-DEI-With the Goal to Broaden Inclusion and Representation in Exercise Science Research. Int J Exerc Sci, 17(8), 852-860. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijes/vol17/iss8/3
Ebben, W., & Brudzynski, L. (2008). Motivations and barriers to exercise among college students. J Exerc Physiol Online, 11(5), 1-11. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: www.asep.org/asep/asep/EbbenJEPonlineOctober2008.pdf
Ednie, A., & Stibor, M. (2017). Influence and interpretation of intrinsic and extrinsic exercise motives. J Hum Sport Exerc, 12(2), 414-425. https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2017.122.18
Frederick, C. M., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). Differences in motivation for sport and exercise and their relations with participation and mental health. J Sport Behav, 16(3), 124-147. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-03770-001
Garver, M. J., Gordon, A. M., Philipp, N. M., Huml, M. R., & Wakeman, A. J. (2021). Change-event steals "athlete" from "college athlete": Perceived impact and depression, anxiety, and stress. J Multidisc Healthc, 14, 1873-1882. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S320243
Garver, M. J., Navalta, J. W., Heijnen, M. J., Davis, D. W., Reece, J. D., Stone, W. J., & Lyons, T. S. (2023). IJES self-study on participants' sex in exercise science: Sex-data gap and corresponding author survey. Int J Exerc Sci, 16(6), 364. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijes/vol16/iss6/6/
Graff, M., & Czarnomska, O. (2019). Can time spent on social media affect thin-ideal internalisation, objectified body consciousness and exercise motivation in women. Psychreg J Psychol, 3(3), 28-39. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/3659041/Graff_Czarnomska_2019_.pdf
Hare, M. A., Garver, M. J., Ruot, C. W., Odom, K. D., Offutt, N. W., Ornelas, J. X., ... & Bell, J. D. (2016). Survey responses from "Wellness for Life" classes: Overall value and barriers, motivators, and motives towards physical activity. Int J Exerc Sci: Conf Proc, 2(8), 8. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss8/8
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2017). "Strong beats skinny every time": Disordered eating and compulsive exercise in women who post fitspiration on Instagram. Int J Eat Disorders, 50(1), 76-79. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22559
Kilpatrick, M., Hebert, E., & Bartholomew, J. (2005). College students' motivation for physical activity: differentiating men's and women's motives for sport participation and exercise. J Am Coll Health, 54(2), 87-94. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.54.2.87-94
López de Subijana, C., Barriopedro, M., & Conde, E. (2015). Supporting dual career in Spain: elite athletes' barriers to study. Psychol Sport Exerc, 21, 57-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2015.04.012
Markland, D., & Ingledew, D. K. (1997). The measurement of exercise motives: Factorial validity and invariance across gender of a revised Exercise Motivations Inventory. Brit J Health Psychol, 2(4), 361-376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8287.1997.tb00549.x
Morris, L. S., Grehl, M. M., Rutter, S. B., Mehta, M., & Westwater, M. L. (2022). On what motivates us: A detailed review of intrinsic v. extrinsic motivation. Psychol Med, 52(10), 1801-1816. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291722001611
Navalta, J. W., Davis, D. W., Thomas, J., Garver, M. J., Siegel, S., Reece, J. D., & Maples, J. M. (2024). The 2024 International Journal of Exercise Science Position Stand on Inclusion. Int J Exerc Sci, 17(8), 730-749. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijes/vol17/iss8/1
Offutt, N. W., Garver, M. J., Ruot, C. W., Odom, K. D., Hare, M. A., Ornelas, J. X., & Bell, J. D. (2016). Demonstrable evidence of beneficial physical outcomes from university physical education activity courses. Int J Exerc Sci: Conf Proc, 2(8), 7. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss8/7
Sukys, S., Cesnaitiene, V. J., Emeljanovas, A., Mieziene, B., Valantine, I., & Ossowski, Z. M. (2019). Reasons and barriers for university students' leisure-time physical activity: moderating effect of health education. Percept Mot Skills, 126(6), 1084-1100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031512519869089
Tappe, M. K., Duda, J. L., & Ehrnwald, P. M. (1989). Perceived barriers to exercise among adolescents. J Sch Health, 59(4), 153-155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.1989.tb04689.x
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Retrieved from [Accessed 2024, August 28]: https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf
Vaterlaus, J. M., Patten, E. V., Roche, C., & Young, J. A. (2015). #Gettinghealthy: The perceived influence of social media on young adult health behaviors. Comp Hum Beh, 45, 151-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.013
Vučković, V., Krejač, K., & Kajtna, T. (2022). Exercise motives of college students after the Covid-19 Lockdown. Int J Environ Res Pub Health, 19(12), 6977. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19126977
Ziebland, S., Thorogood, M., Yudkin, P., Jones, L., & Coulter, A. (1998). Lack of willpower or lack of wherewithal? "Internal" and "external" barriers to changing diet and exercise in a three year follow-up of participants in a health check. Soc Sci Med, 46(4-5), 461-465. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(97)00190-1