Sports YouTube engagement as a moderator for social support on wellbeing: a mediation model with exercise behavior

Despite the widespread belief that social support and online video-sharing social media platforms are strongly associated with exercise behavior and wellbeing, addressing this intersection has received scant attention. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of engagement with sports-related YouTube content on the relationship between social support, exercise behavior, and wellbeing.

The participants consisted of 226 adults (Male: 160, Female: 66) enrolled in a Sport for All education program at universities in Jeju and Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Data were collected through an online survey administered at the recruitment sites in August 2022. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS Macro (Model 8) to validate the moderated mediation effect.

The findings indicated that social support significantly and positively associated with both exercise behavior and wellbeing, while exercise behavior was positively associated with wellbeing. Notably, the interaction between social support and sports YouTube engagement was significantly associated with exercise behavior at high and moderate levels of engagement. Furthermore, higher levels of YouTube engagement were associated with a stronger positive association between social support and wellbeing.

The results highlight the potential of digital engagement, particularly accessible sports YouTube content, to enhance exercise behavior and wellbeing in everyday life. These findings underscore the importance of leveraging social media platforms to promote public health, given the high accessibility of sports YouTube engagement. This study contributes to the interdisciplinary integration of sports media and sports psychology, providing a foundation for future digital health interventions.