Fitness/Wellness Professionals as Social Media Content Creators and Influencers

INTRODUCTION Awide use of social media and virtual communication platforms enable people to interact with each other (1). Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are actively being used by social media content creators and influencers. The term “influencer” is referred to as a person who exerts greater influence compared with other individuals on social media. Influencers, some with many followers, create topic-specific multimedia content on these platforms to actively engage in information exchange activities (2). Content creators and influencers in the fitness and wellness space on social media may or may not have the appropriate education, credentials, and practical skills relative to the information they are sharing. Researchers have investigated social media usage and found both positive and negative outcomes. For example, they have found that credible influencers can have a positive impact on promoting physical activity among social media users (3). However, researchers also found that as social media use increased, so did body dissatisfaction (4) and depression levels (5) as well as eating disorders and suicidality among teenaged girls pursuing an ideal body image (6). To help minimize these negative outcomes, it is essential that social media content creators and influencers have necessary qualifications (credentials and competence) before engaging with followers.