Health Promotion on Instagram: Descriptive-Correlational Study and Predictive Factors of Influencers' Content

Area of Science:

• Social Media Studies
• Health Communication
• Digital Ethics

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic amplified social media influencers' impact on followers.
• Concerns exist regarding influencers' ethical responsibility in disseminating health-related content.
• Existing research highlights a gap in understanding influencer content and its audience demographics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze content and author characteristics of 443 large-follower Instagram health accounts.
• To determine if these accounts promote health or other topics like beauty.
• To identify factors predicting content topics and correlate influencer gender with audience characteristics and messages.

Main Methods:

• Correlational statistical study of 443 Instagram accounts with over one million followers.
• Analysis of content topics, author demographics, and audience characteristics.
• Examination of correlations between influencer gender, audience demographics, and shared messages.

Main Results:

• Health promotion was not the predominant narrative; beauty and normative bodies were more frequently promoted.
• A significant correlation was found between posting health content, influencer gender, and the average age of their audience.
• Influencer content often diverges from genuine health promotion.

Conclusions:

• Public media education is crucial to combat misinformation on sensitive health topics.
• Improved ethical protocols on social networks are needed to mitigate the impact of false content.
• Enhancing the influence of credible health professionals on social media is essential.