How Chinese adolescents present themselves online regarding physical activity

Abstract Digital tools with social networking features are often utilised to promote physical activity among adolescents. However, the need to improve users’ experiences, motivation and engagement with these tools pointed out the need to explore experiences from adolescents’ perspectives. This study is a qualitative study exploring adolescents’ online culture, norms, self-presentation, and self-exposure regarding their physical activity, taking Chinese adolescents as the target population in a collectivist culture context. Inspired by Goffman’s dramaturgical model and Boyd’s concept of self-representation in digital media, we aim to explore how Chinese adolescents construct their online physical activity self-presentation, as well as what and how socio-cultural norms play a role in this process. After drawing a population sample from Chinese adolescents (aged 14–19 years, 50% female) and conducting 13 focus group discussions, our results suggested that Chinese adolescents are willing to construct an active, encouraging, modest and safe physical activity self-presentation on social media, but they also perceived body dissatisfaction, online comparison and privacy intrusion as potential dangers in physical activity self-presentation at the same time. The results demonstrated that Chinese adolescents’ physical activity self-presentation is the result of the interplay and negotiation between personal norms and sociocultural norms.