Persistent Sharing of Fitness App Status on Twitter

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the sharing of fitness and health information on Twitter, examining user traits, motivations, and social media features that influence long-term engagement and sharing behaviors.

Contribution

It provides insights into the traits and social factors influencing health information sharing on social media, aiding in user retention strategies.

Findings

Certain user profile features correlate with increased sharing.

Social network characteristics impact long-term engagement.

Sharing behaviors vary based on fitness activity types.

Abstract

As the world becomes more digitized and interconnected, information that was once considered to be private such as one's health status is now being shared publicly. To understand this new phenomenon better, it is crucial to study what types of health information are being shared on social media and why, as well as by whom. In this paper, we study the traits of users who share their personal health and fitness related information on social media by analyzing fitness status updates that MyFitnessPal users have shared via Twitter. We investigate how certain features like user profile, fitness activity, and fitness network in social media can potentially impact the long-term engagement of fitness app users. We also discuss implications of our findings to achieve a better retention of these users and to promote more sharing of their status updates.