The Fitness apps increase stress and create performance anxiety?
Perhaps yes and they risk giving rise to a series of obsessive behaviors due to constant competition with others.
This is hypothesized by a study by the National University of Ireland, which conducted one of the most significant research into a field that is still little explored at a scientific level, namely that of the relationship between these applications and mental health of those who use them.
Fitness apps increase stress and create performance anxiety: is it true?
The team of researchers interviewed 272 cyclists used to using the Strava App, a famous GPS tracking software that can also be used in swimming and running. This smartphone application, like almost all programs of its kind, allows you to interact with friends virtual through rankings, scores, “likes”. In short, the comparison with the sporting performances of others is constant, but this could prove to be the case a double-edged sword.
>> READ ALSO: Garmin Inreach satellite tracker: 7 reasons why you should buy it now
The negative effects of apps on mental health
The experts, having completed and analyzed the interviews, admitted that these applications can help spread the passion for sports and support training in a more efficient and conscious way. On the other hand, however, the team from the National University of Ireland noticed a alarming effect on mental health of users: fitness apps they increase stress and create performance anxiety.
The risk, in fact, is to develop an unhealthy obsession with sport. The reason? Continuously posting your workouts to receive praise and climb a virtual leaderboard leads users to seek an obsessive comparison with others, with the aim of doing better and appearing smarter. It’s a bit the same thing that applies to classic social media, but translated to the world of sport.
>> READ ALSO: The 5 best apps for running
Eoin Whelan, one of the authors of the research, spoke about “perverse and exhausting effect” regarding fitness apps. There are two other most important studies on the relationship between these programs and the mental health of athletes. The first is from CNN (it used Fitbit), whose results highlighted that 59% of subjects had the negative feeling that their training routines were controlled by the App; 30% instead stated that the comparison with other users creates feelings of guilt. The second is from Duke University, according to which fitness apps reduce the pleasure created by sportmaking physical activity conceivable like a real job (with all the attendant worries). These two studies, together with that of the University of Ireland, represent a fundamental starting point for exploring a topic that deserves greater attention.
> Iwrite to yourself to ours newsletter filling out the form below!
Spoiler: we send few, but good ones!
When and why to use fitness apps
Fitness Apps they are not absolute evil. First of all, as confirmed by the study in question, they significantly help to support one’s sporting performance because they measure various key data and give us more awareness of our improvements or worsening. Those who use them, therefore, should take advantage of the technical features of these programs, trying not to give in to the temptation to share every single workout online. One idea might be to just have one restricted friends listso as not to fuel one’s desire for competition and comparison.
Fitness apps can be very useful for those preparing for a race or for those who practice certain high-level activities. If instead you belong to the category of amateur sportsmen and non-professionals (who do physical activity for the sake of feeling good, having fun and staying healthy), in many cases it is better to leave the smartphone on pause and enjoy sport in its essence. Without pressure. Furthermore, experts argue that fitness apps risk having even more negative repercussions on children and adolescents.
(Cover photo: composite / Pixabay)
Advertising
You might also be interested in…
2024-03-07 13:30:00
#fitness #apps #increase #stress #performance #anxiety
