Motivations, barriers, and social media volume usage influence on exercise

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.