Presentation Type

Poster

Presentation Type

Submission

Keywords

appearance-related messaging, beauty ideals, social media, body positivity

Department

Psychology

Major

Psychology

Abstract

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals exercised in gyms or attended in-person workout classes. As the pandemic led to shutdowns, many turned to online workout programs to maintain activity levels. The purpose of this analysis was to examine the prevalence of appearance-related messages in 297 popular workout videos on YouTube. Among these videos, 64.3% of the main instructors were women. Instructors were likely to promote beauty ideals, as 100% of the instructors had features consistent with cultural beauty ideals (e.g., clear skin, white teeth, straight hair) and 90.3% had thin or athletic bodies. Additionally, 68.4% of the videos were unlikely to portray instructors who did not have visibly toned or athletic body types, and only 10.1% of the videos included an instructor with features not aligned with Western beauty ideals (e.g., stretch marks, scars, less taunt skin, acne). In addition, 54.5% of the videos depicted instructors wearing tight-fitting workout attire to accentuate various features of the body. In terms of body positivity messaging, 40.1% of the videos included comments related to body appreciation and functionality of the body, as well as underlining the importance of body care (36.0%) and preserving inner positivity (30.3%). Also, only a small percentage of videos in the sample included examples of objectification of the body (6.4%). In contrast to the positive messages emphasizing body appreciation and care, 46.5% of the videos encouraged viewers to work out to lose weight, and 4 videos (1.3%) employed strategies to induce shame or guilt around eating or exercise habits. These findings suggest further examination of the influence of appearance-related messages on social media platforms is warranted.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Jennifer Harriger

Funding Source or Research Program

Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative

Location

Waves Cafeteria

Start Date

24-3-2023 2:00 PM

End Date

24-3-2023 4:00 PM

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Mar 24th, 2:00 PM Mar 24th, 4:00 PM

Appearance-Related Messages in YouTube Workout Videos: A Content Analysis

Waves Cafeteria

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals exercised in gyms or attended in-person workout classes. As the pandemic led to shutdowns, many turned to online workout programs to maintain activity levels. The purpose of this analysis was to examine the prevalence of appearance-related messages in 297 popular workout videos on YouTube. Among these videos, 64.3% of the main instructors were women. Instructors were likely to promote beauty ideals, as 100% of the instructors had features consistent with cultural beauty ideals (e.g., clear skin, white teeth, straight hair) and 90.3% had thin or athletic bodies. Additionally, 68.4% of the videos were unlikely to portray instructors who did not have visibly toned or athletic body types, and only 10.1% of the videos included an instructor with features not aligned with Western beauty ideals (e.g., stretch marks, scars, less taunt skin, acne). In addition, 54.5% of the videos depicted instructors wearing tight-fitting workout attire to accentuate various features of the body. In terms of body positivity messaging, 40.1% of the videos included comments related to body appreciation and functionality of the body, as well as underlining the importance of body care (36.0%) and preserving inner positivity (30.3%). Also, only a small percentage of videos in the sample included examples of objectification of the body (6.4%). In contrast to the positive messages emphasizing body appreciation and care, 46.5% of the videos encouraged viewers to work out to lose weight, and 4 videos (1.3%) employed strategies to induce shame or guilt around eating or exercise habits. These findings suggest further examination of the influence of appearance-related messages on social media platforms is warranted.

 

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