Lifestyle: Seeking and Giving Help On Social Media
Are you starting a new health and wellness program and are looking for reliable health and wellness information? It's important to seek out individuals and businesses who have legitimate experience in the field, and not someone who just has a great ass and can show off how flexible, strong or thin they are. Are you a health and wellness professional promoting your business on social media? It's important to relate to your followers and share content that is both professional and safe.
It's one thing to post a photo of your own yoga or fitness journey to help encourage others to join you, but even with the best intentions a lot of "yoga" and fitness photos people post are more about increasing the number of "likes" and "followers", knowing that if they post a shot of them doing a crazy, and slightly dangerous pose, with an interesting background, wearing little to no clothing, then the amount of hits they'll get will be increased. The same goes with nutrition, while that smoothie bowl looks aesthetically pleasing, what is the actual benefits of the ingredients that are being used and how is it beneficial to the person eating it? While social media is a great way to showcase your business, showcase your achievements, and of course showcase your delicious lunch, it can sometimes be a death trap too.
Followers look at "instafamous" fitness stars and try to replicate them--their poses, their bodies, their nutrition programs--and sometimes it may not be the best advice or position health wise. At the end of the day, it's great imagery for the eyes, but not always the best for information, facts, or even confidence. For someone who is interested in learning more about health and wellness, find people who have studied it and live it professionally. Find people who have supported claims in whatever industry they are in. Find people who are accredited in their field. Find people who have testimonials to the work they have done with others. And as always, listen to your doctor and your body.
On the side of the health and wellness influencer, there is this obsession with "numbers" in the social media community and how it relates to success. It seems almost anything can and will be posted for increased numbers, no matter if it's safe or not. Do the number of people that are following and "liking" posts on social media equate to being more successful? It's a delicate line, and financially it makes sense that the more people the better, but when it comes to truly having an impact, sometimes the greatest moments are done in smaller crowds.
Fitness, nutrition and yoga instructors and guides are their own "brand" but it's important to remember that life shouldn't be about exploiting ethics and bodies for the sake of achieving higher numbers. I think we can all agree that anyone in these fields find themselves in this career because they want to have a positive influence on their community, their clients and themselves--to be able to educate and connect with people in a healthy way throughout the world.
Unfortunately, when you spend to much time trying to "build your brand" and focusing on numbers, and exploiting yourself and your body to achieve those numbers, then you're kind of veering off the course of which you set out on. Are we trying to fill a void of wanting the attention focused on us? Or do we really want to make more of an impact within our community?
My advice to the follower and the influencer: always to let the work speak for itself. Focus on inspirational, and not aspirational. Check sources. Share things that mean something.
Our health isn't a game and should be taken seriously. Trying a tip or suggestion here or there from someone we follow on social media is a great way to discover new things, but for serious fitness and nutrition plans it's best to seek out reputable sources. People need to be aware that just because an influencer looks cool in a pose and *seemingly* lives off of green juice via their social media feed, doesn't mean that they are necessarily the "go-to" source for what is going to be safe for YOU and YOUR body.
Who are your favorite social media accounts you follow for real inspiration? How do you feel when looking at their pictures and content? What do you look for when searching for health advice?
