Running with social media: social network sites and the adoption of marathon running

Abstract

With steady increases in social media use and Internet use for health information in general, individuals are turning to their interpersonal, social networks to find subjective evaluation information regarding health-related behavior. At the same time, marathon completion rates have been steadily increasing and are now at an all-time high. Scholars have assessed varying factors that contribute to successful adoption of marathon running, but none yet have examined the ways in which social media may be affecting those factors. Using framework and theory from the fields of communication, sport psychology, behavior, and health, this study identified relationships between social media use and other factors related to marathon-running adoption. It found that there is a strong, positive, and significant correlation between social media use and perceived observability of marathon-running activity on SNS; a moderate, positive, and significant correlation between social media use and athletic identity; and also a strong, positive, and significant correlation between perceived observability of marathon running on SNS and perceived competence to successfully adopt marathon running.