Use of social networks in motivation and physical activity levels among untrained Filipino gen z young adults
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https://doi.org/10.17979/sportis.2025.11.3.11916Abstract
Usage of social media is not anymore, a luxury but a need to satisfy the holistic aspect of being an individual. With this, it can affect daily routine such as physical activity, and exercise. The study aims to investigate the predictive capability of social media addiction on physical activity and exercise motivation. The study utilized a quantitative research design with predictive analysis to examine the influence of social media addiction on physical activity levels and exercise motivation. A total of 165 students (female= 82; male= 83) enrolled in a Physical Activity Towards Health and Fitness 1 course at a state university in Region 3, Philippines, were selected through simple random sampling based on set inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected via a Google Form tool containing three validated instruments: the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) to assess social media addiction, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to measure physical activity in MET units, and the Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2) to evaluate exercise motivation. Ethical clearance (control no. CSER-CRDU-2025-020) was secured prior to data gathering, and responses were analyzed using multiple linear regression in SPSS version 30. Males have descriptively higher levels of physical activity and exercise motivation. As for the females, social media addiction is higher. Also, it was analyzed that social media addiction was not a predictor of physical activity levels and exercise motivation and its subscales. The multiple regression analyses showed low R² values across all outcomes (ranging from .000 to .083), indicating that social media addiction explained very little variance in physical activity levels and exercise motivation. All p-values were non-significant (p > .05), suggesting that social media addiction did not significantly predict any of the examined variables. These findings suggest that social media may not significantly influence exercise behavior, and therefore, digital minimalism was not recommended in the context of physical activity. Future research should incorporate gender-based comparative and predictive analyses.
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