Social media has become an essential component of our daily lives and its infiltration into our lives and society is questionable. Some might say that it has had a negative impact on our health and well-being since we all become restricted to our mobile phones for a greater part of the day and instead of being involved in any physical activity, we prefer to use mobile phones.
However, social media’s impact on our health and wellness is not negative in every aspect. In fact, social media has made it possible for us to take better care of our physical and mental health.
Social Media has impacted health and fitness in ways that you cannot have imagined a few years ago and a great part of the credit goes to individuals and groups who work hard to keep everyone tempted and motivated to work on themselves. With that being said, let’s have a look at some ways in which social media has impacted health and fitness:
1. Motivation Factor
We have the motivating factor involved with the help of social media that keeps us motivated to stay healthy and in shape. On social media, you will see all sorts of motivating pages, groups, and accounts that will try their best to keep people like you motivated to stay fit and healthy.
Exercising and staying in shape requires a lot of motivation and when you are scrolling through your feed on any social media platform and see other people exercising and sharing their workout videos, showing their healthy bodies then it will get you to work out and keep yourself in shape so you can also post your videos and photos.
2. Intimidation Factor
The intimidation factor cannot be neglected also. Seeing your friends and family members pursue a healthy lifestyle and fitness goals on social media can be very intimidating. Even seeing your favorite celebrity workout on social media can be intimidating and motivating to get you going.
When someone close to us works out or lives a healthy lifestyle then we cannot resist the temptation and try to adapt to a healthy lifestyle.
The photos from celebrities working out may be photoshopped but if someone close to you, like a friend or family member starts working out and posting his/her photos/videos then it will be very intimidating for you and you will definitely try to live that healthy lifestyle.
3. Workout Models
Before the advent of social media, we were not exposed to seeing people and their fit bodies. Of course, physically fit people did exist and walked among us but there wasn’t any such platform available where we can readily see ripped and toned bodies as we can now. Even if you visit a website like Omegle, it wouldn’t be surprising to see fitness models on there.
You can find all sorts of fitness models on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube that will help you stay motivated and on track. One of the biggest motivations is seeing someone in a way that you would want yourself to and seeing fitness models and trainers on social media is a great way to get people going and move towards a healthy lifestyle.
4. Support Groups
Establishing a proper workout routine and a specific diet after years of a sedentary lifestyle is a huge move and for some people, it can go all well at the start but after a few days, they just don’t have that motivation or energy to keep going. Fortunately, the advent of social media has made it possible for people to support each other.
There are now online support groups available on different online platforms such as Reddit, Facebook, etc where you can let other people know about your journey and how you can improve your daily routine. Even on websites like Chatiw, you can find people who will support you during this and help you stay motivated. Plus, a few likes and positive comments on a working out picture/video can be a huge support.
These were some of the very common ways by which social media has had an impact on health and fitness. Sometimes, all we need is a little bit of motivation or perhaps a few likes on Facebook or Instagram to keep going back to the gym every day.
Individuals who are new to the gym should be supported and encouraged because any positive feedback and reinforcement from a friend or family member can be a huge support for them to stay on the right track.