Abstract
Drawing upon theories on self-objectification, social comparison, self-determination, and framing, we examined the effects of female fitfluencer Instagram images and captions focusing on physical appearance (vs. less focused on appearance) on exercise intention and feeling insecure and inspired. We conducted an online experiment with a 3 (image: appearance-focused female fitfluencer, vs. not appearance-focused fitfluencer, vs. not appearance-focused no fitfluencer) x 3 (caption: focus on appearance vs. health vs. mood benefits) between-subjects design amongst two samples (Nsample 1 = 494, Nsample 2 = 253). Results show that 1) in both samples, women who had seen an appearance-focused image reported the lowest exercise intention; 2) appearance-focused images can make women feel insecure, and 3) effects did not vary between captions. These findings suggest that fitfluencer Instagram images that focus on appearance have the least desirable effects, even if they are accompanied by a caption emphasizing the health or mood benefits of exercise.
| Translated title of the contribution | Als je het hebt, pronk er dan niet mee: Effecten van fitfluencer-afbeeldingen en bijschriften op trainingsintentie |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Pages (from-to) | 261-283 |
| Journal | Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2023 |