Social media can increase kids physical activity levels? This doesn’t sound right does it?
Normally when you think social media and kids in the same thought process, you think middle and high schoolers posting pics of themselves in a mirror with the flash on so you can’t see their faces. Underneath is a caption that says “drip 2 hard”. It has 1,000 likes.
Now all of their friends posting 10 of the same emojis in one comment of the heart eye face or the diamond. You can check out any middle school kids Instagram if you aren’t familiar with that last sentence.
Nowadays it’s a popularity contest to see how many likes an individual can get on a single post.
For the popular girl who posted a selfie and got 5,000 likes, Instagram is her best friend. But for the shy girl who posted just as good as a selfie as the popular girl, and only got 12 likes Instagram can be a nightmare. Yet kids keep posting, because in their world that’s whats most important to them. To be seen and liked.
A Little Background Info On this topic
In graduate school I decided I wanted to write my thesis on how to increase physical activity levels in kids through the use of social media. I narrowed in on Instagram and studied how can I make this happen. I worked religiously on my content with help from my amazing committee team Dr. Beddoes, Dr. Sazama, and Dr. Hepler to the point where we are in the process of being published in The Physical Educator journal.
Now, because of permissions from parents and not having a big window to get my study completed, we decided to use young adults (ages 18-22). There were two groups. Group A had to post their physical activity to an Instagram that I had them create. The other group members could like and comment on their pics, and Group B did not have to post anything.
Every subject wore a pedometer to track steps, distance, and calories. When the study concluded we found that the Group A’s physical activity levels were slightly higher than Group B’s. I will post the full article after official publication.
Overall
Social media especially Instagram can increase physical activity levels.
Side note: during research for my thesis, I had no connection to the subjects I used. They did not know each other until they started to friend each other on their temporary IG accounts which was one of the stipulations of the study. They were also in college and some didn’t use social media much. I loved my research, but ideally I wanted to support my hypothesis with middle/high school aged kids. Even more importantly my own students, since at their age likes an comments are a lot more important to them.
So now that we know social media such as IG CAN increase PA (physical activity) levels, I can explain how to incorporate it with your students and make it more personal to what you do.
Using Social Media (Instagram) to Increase Physical Activity Levels
You’re probably wondering what in the world gave me the idea to carry out this study in grad school? Well before I attended, I created a teacher Instagram account for my middle school students that I student taught for. Everything was private. If a student wanted to add me I would follow them back, but I never added first.
I would suggest using this same mindset, because some students may feel uncomfortable being followed by their teacher. But honestly, you are going to get a lot of followers you never expected. This is because you’re page is going to intrigue them.
I also did not accept any friend requests from students outside of my ST placement. You need to make sure your page is private, and for your students only to ensure everyone’s safety.
What Content Was I Posting?
On my teacher page (not my personal account), I would post pictures of what I was doing. Hiking, bike riding, running and I would always expain what I was doing, followed up by “what physical activity are you guys getting today?” I was surprised at how many of my students would tell me what they are doing. Just like in my post about writing your goals down to keep you accountable, the same thing was happening here.
Were there students telling me they were going to play basketball and didn’t? Sure. But there were more instances of students writing down their activities on my page and then committing to them. They knew I would ask about it in class, which also helped to build our relationship…in turn increased engagement in class. It’s a win win win cycle.
Hashtags For The Win
One day I was laying in bed thinking about my IG page trying to figure out how to take it a step further. Then it clicked. I’ll have a contest. And the only way I was going to be able to see all of my students posts was to create a hashtag that everyone can use so all of their pictures end up in the same place.
The contest consisted of a notepad post from me telling my students to upload a video or picture of themselves being active by themselves or with friends and to use the hashtag I provided. I told them that I would name the winner of the contest for the most creative PA the following day and shout them out on my page.
Example:
This is where the “likes” come into play. Not only are they in competition to get a shout out, but they wanted the likes on their page, and mine as well. Double the likes for a post? Every kids dream.
So the next morning I checked the hashtag and I was blown away by the pictures and videos I saw. I had some athletes playing basketball, swimming, running, a piece of paper with a workout listed on it, gym pictures, but my favorite by far was the shy kid who went hiking.
Example
Just like earlier when I talked about the popular girl, vs the shy girls selfie and number of likes on their personal pages, you have to understand there is really no way around that.
But because I had amazing relationships with so many students, I had the shy kids feel comfortable enough to participate. And because I evened out the playing field (everyone had the same task: take a pic/video of your PA) the students came together and liked everyone’s pictures.
For this contest, I was so happy with the results I ended up shouting out everyone who participated. I also wanted the other students who didn’t participate to get a chance to see different types of PA you can do. I made it as simple as walking your dog. Even when there is contest going on, I still have students either using my hashtag that I regularly check, or they will send me a DM’s of what they are doing.
Other Ways To Increase Physical Activity Trough Social Media Like Instagram
Currently, I am on a crazy yoga kick. I’m not that good, but I am seeing progress, so I have been tracking my journey through my teacher IG page to inspire my students to keep working towards a specific goal they have.
I will also post what units are coming up and if there is anything I need them to bring to my gym ahead of time.
One of my recent posts, I asked them to comment their favorite songs. This was so I could download them and play them back while they are in class with me. I try to make their class as relevant to them as possible, and I know they appreciate it. They show it through engagement.
You have the sky as your limit to be creative with your kids. Figure out what works for you, and build on it. If increased physical activity lifelong is the goal of your PE class like mine is, then try my suggestions out!
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