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Fitspiration and Thinspiration on Twitter: A Content Analysis
Mun Yee Kwan1, Ayla N Gioia1, Rebecca Braverman1
1Department of Psychology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA.
Summary
Both fitspiration and thinspiration social media content contain unhealthy messages, despite the former
Area of Science:
- Social Media Studies
- Body Image Research
- Health Communication
Background:
- Fitspiration aims to promote healthy living but can convey unhealthy messages.
- Both fitspiration and thinspiration contribute to body dissatisfaction.
- Social media platforms are key channels for these phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare thinspiration and fitspiration content on Twitter.
- To analyze the nature of messages within each type of content.
- To identify common and distinct themes in social media health trends.
Main Methods:
- Content analysis of 301 thinspiration and 479 fitspiration posts from Twitter.
- Data collected over a 4-week period.
- Analysis included text, image, and video content, coded by two independent coders.
Main Results:
- Thinspiration posts focused more on thin ideals and disordered eating.
- Fitspiration posts emphasized muscular ideals and healthy living.
- Both content types featured weight loss, unrealistic bodies, and sexualization.
Conclusions:
- Confirms existing literature on unhealthy messages in both fitspiration and thinspiration.
- Novel contribution by examining food and video content alongside body, text, and image.
- Highlights the pervasive nature of unhealthy ideals across different social media content types.
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