With the advancement of technology we have seen more people engage with social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. These days it's very easy for people to get carried away with social media however, it has also brought about some positive effects. One of these effects is the rise of easily accessible information people can gather right at their fingertips. This is in comparison to previous years where it took a considerable amount of effort to stay up to date with the literature. While easily accessible information is a positive, the abundance of information out there as well as the credibility of the information presented can prove to be problematic.
Social media provides a great opportunity to enhance knowledge transfer as scientists have a range of platforms to publicise their work. However, it is rare that the scientist will get attention from people for publishing a peer reviewed article. It is more likely the general population will direct their attention to the flashy fitness “gurus” who have heaps of followers but lack credibility or experience. This fits Burke (2017) definition of a celebrity assuming the role of a science educator. They may provide misleading or unreliable information to their audience which would hinder the transfer of knowledge and only cause confusion when presented with conflicting views. Due to the power these celebrities possess the masses believe what they are told and this proves to be biggest pitfall social media has when it comes to transfer of knowledge.
A major risk associated with social media includes the negative and unconstructive arguing that generally occurs in the comments section. Knowledge is meant to evolve and the point of new studies is to go into unchartered territory to find new evidence which we can base conclusions off of. These platforms should foster communication and sensible debate rather than promote war. Another major pitfall of social media is the rise of the celebrity “guru” fitness trainer. To assume everyone who posts exercise related information on social media is an “expert” let alone a reliable source of information is naïve to the dangers of social media. People can be easily persuaded with good looks and this only gets amplified in visual based platforms like Instagram. Meanwhile, it seems that an emerging body of evidence has identified that younger individuals mental health are affected by social media. Causes may range from body image issues to disordered eating.
While social media has its dangers there are some positives. The ability to network with people you otherwise wouldn’t normally meet in real life. This serves as a great opportunity to learn from like-minded individuals as well as challenge each other’s viewpoints to understand a topic with greater depth. Another positive is the easily accessible information. This makes it easy to learn a topic you may be unfamiliar with or have little experience dealing with. Meanwhile, if you work privately as your own coach or own a fitness facility social media is an excellent tool to promote your business. I also believe that social media is a good way to showcase the skills you have learnt or are learning. It provides a good medium to demonstrate that you practice what you preach.
While social media is something that I use as part of my professional development it is only one piece of the puzzle and not something I solely rely on to get information from. Who you follow on social media will ultimately determine your experience on social media. It might be a good idea to do some digging about the individual you are following and find if they are credible or have some experience in the field before mindlessly rehearsing what they tell you.
Reference:
Burke, L. M. (2017). Communicating Sports Science in the Age of the Twittersphere. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 27(1), 1-5. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0057
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