Exploring the potential impact of wellness influencers’ health communication on shaping user health perceptions

Abstract

The concept of wellness is gaining popularity and how we search for health information has significantly changed in recent years, social media emerging as one of the main tools stay informed. The primary communicators are health influencers whose content has previously been claimed to perpetuate body image issues and disordered health habits, contributing to raised concerns about user-safety. My thesis aims to examine how health is communicated on social media and evaluate its potential impact on health perceptions by employing the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and conducting a content analysis of a random sample of wellness influencer content from Instagram. My findings suggest wellness influencers actively produce content that employs SCT strategies and, thus, are highly likely to shape perceptions and impact adoption of specific health behaviors. Moreover, influencer content could be contributing to a wider cultural shift towards holistic health, putting forth a more positive wellness agenda that intertwines physical, mental and emotional well-being.