Social media avatars might help you lose weight. A new study from the University of Missouri suggests that people will put in a little more effort to bring their online personalities to life, and that includes losing weight.
The survey suggests that a person's avatar, which is a digital representation of them, could motivate someone to better himself or herself to become more like their avatar.
"Having an avatar that represents my goal weight would be a great idea, it would be a great motivator,” chuckled Charles Palmer, Professor of New Media at Harrisburg University
A University of Missouri researcher says that having a slim social media avatar may help you see a slimmer version of yourself in real life.
"A number of individuals really do relate to their avatar,” Palmer continued. “You know, it's this thing that's this representation of themselves. Sometimes it's a glorified example of who they would like to be."
We went to the LA Fitness in Harrisburg to ask what people thought of the theory.
"I believe it motivates some whereas others just use it for fantasy, but I believe some people use the avatars to encourage them and motivate them to start pushing for what they want," commented Sean Epps.
Epps used to weigh over 400 pounds, and he believes that whatever gets people motivated to get in shape is good enough for him.
"I believe that when people do it via - however they do it, online or video games, that they use that image for extra motivation, so when they decide to get ready to get fit, they already have that image of how they want to look," Epps explained.
"Obviously they're creating these characters online, the vision they want to see themselves in," stated Harrisburg LA Fitness General Manager Keith Ruffins.
The theory says that the creation of an avatar allows an individual to try on a new appearance with little risk or effort, and sometimes that can lead to wanting to make a change in real life.
"I think it could convince them to go to the gym, you know, they see themselves everyday and they start thinking about, you know, how they look and how they feel and how they want to feel, and I think it's a move that they'll end up making," Ruffins added.
Researchers say more work needs to be done, but they do believe that each person has specific things that can motivate them, and they believe avatars are one of those things.
The survey suggests that a person's avatar, which is a digital representation of them, could motivate someone to better himself or herself to become more like their avatar.
"Having an avatar that represents my goal weight would be a great idea, it would be a great motivator,” chuckled Charles Palmer, Professor of New Media at Harrisburg University
A University of Missouri researcher says that having a slim social media avatar may help you see a slimmer version of yourself in real life.
"A number of individuals really do relate to their avatar,” Palmer continued. “You know, it's this thing that's this representation of themselves. Sometimes it's a glorified example of who they would like to be."
We went to the LA Fitness in Harrisburg to ask what people thought of the theory.
"I believe it motivates some whereas others just use it for fantasy, but I believe some people use the avatars to encourage them and motivate them to start pushing for what they want," commented Sean Epps.
Epps used to weigh over 400 pounds, and he believes that whatever gets people motivated to get in shape is good enough for him.
"I believe that when people do it via - however they do it, online or video games, that they use that image for extra motivation, so when they decide to get ready to get fit, they already have that image of how they want to look," Epps explained.
"Obviously they're creating these characters online, the vision they want to see themselves in," stated Harrisburg LA Fitness General Manager Keith Ruffins.
The theory says that the creation of an avatar allows an individual to try on a new appearance with little risk or effort, and sometimes that can lead to wanting to make a change in real life.
"I think it could convince them to go to the gym, you know, they see themselves everyday and they start thinking about, you know, how they look and how they feel and how they want to feel, and I think it's a move that they'll end up making," Ruffins added.
Researchers say more work needs to be done, but they do believe that each person has specific things that can motivate them, and they believe avatars are one of those things.