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
Included in
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.