INFLUENCE OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER IN RAISING AWARENESS FOR ACHIEVING FITNESS/DIET CONSCIOUSNESS AMONG YOUTHS IN IMO STATE

Every individual has the right to live a healthy and fulfilling life. This study investigated the Influence of SocialMedia in Raising Awareness for Achieving Fitness/diet consciousness among Youths in Imo State using a surveyresearch design. Anchored on Agenda Setting Theory, the objectives of the study among others were to assess theextent of exposure and awareness among youths in Imo State regarding fitness and diet consciousness informationavailable on Facebook and Twitter, and to examine their influence on the fitness and diet consciousness behavioursand practices of youths in Imo State. With the aid of Wimmer & Dominick online calculator, a sample of 384 wasdrawn from a population of 1,867,838 residents of Imo State. The sampling technique employed in this study wasthe multi-stage sampling technique. The researchers found out among others that majority of the respondents wereexposed to and aware of fitness and diet consciousness information on Facebook and Twitter (44.5%), which suggestthat social media is an integral part of their lives. Also 31.3% actively seek out this information from theseplatforms; an overwhelming majority of 85.4% interestingly participate in health trends and challenges which showwillingness to engage with initiatives aimed at improving fitness/diet consciousness. The researchers thereforerecommend among others that, there is need to maintain the integrity and dependability of fitness and dietconsciousness information posted on social media given the study respondents' emphasis on authoritative sources.