College students’ motivations for using fitness related technology

Abstract

Objective: The purpose was to understand college students’ motivations for the use and discontinued use of fitness related technology (FRT) in relation to their physical activity behaviors. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students (n = 22) who were eligible if they were between 18–24 years of age (emerging adulthood) and current or previous users of FRT. Methods: Qualitative descriptive design was used with semi-structured interviews conducted virtually. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Participants discussed four themes; (1) Motivations for physical activity, (2) Motivations for using FRT, (3) Social connection improves accountability for physical activity, and (4) The ups and downs of FRT goal setting and data display. Conclusions: Best practice guidelines need to be established for the use of FRT along with approaches to promote physical activity among this population. Additional research is needed to identify reasons for discontinuation of use and to develop potential interventions to promote sustained engagement with FRT.

Keywords:

• College students
• emerging adulthood
• fitness related technology
• physical activity
• technology

Acknowledgments

The first author carried out this research study in partial fulfillment of the requirements for their Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing. We acknowledge the two pilot participants for their helpful feedback on the interview guide and the students who participated in this study.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the Northeastern University Institutional Review Board.

Ethical standard statement

The research study discussed in this paper met the ethical guidelines as set out by the IRB of Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.

Funding

This work was supported by the Graduate Dissertation Research Grant from Northeastern University.