Learning fitness and wellness from the internet and social media. Things to be wary of.
Flashiness, too much aggression, and isms. Includes a video of Michale Pollan talking about Nutritionism.
NOTES:
What I will share here are observations I have made, and notes I have taken over the years and in no way do I claim them to be proven methods. While they can be useful and you can "see" them as advice, there is no guarantee that if you try them you will succeed at anything; other than learning a little more about how to navigate fitness and wellness and consider different angles of the learning process.
As a society, we are used to a model of learning in which if you start learning about something it has to be a certain way (specific steps in a specific order and timing). However, I feel that such a way is inconsistent with how we really learn. Not only when deciding where to start learning, but with the fact that whatever we learn about something, no matter what it is (and when it is), is learning about that something.
That is to say that if you know how to do, program, and modify your pushups - that doesn't make you a fitness pro, but - you do know something about fitness.
Learning is not only about recognizing the characteristics of a topic or subject, but also about recognizing that things are perceived by the senses (no senses no learning), and that the senses are what every content out there wants to capture. And there is a war for our senses. From textures to sounds, from smells to taste, and to colors, and shapes, and structural design; and even body positioning1.
For work, as a Health and Wellness Instructor, I do a lot of research to write articles and supporting content for my learners, in order to keep them up to date with trends, practices, and opportunities; and the majority of the sources I use are from the internet (which includes social media).
I have been learning how to find valuable information out there that I would recommend, for future personal trainers and physical rehab technicians. I have learned a thing or two about how to navigate those waters and although you are not a learner from work, you are a learner here. We are all learners here!
I am aware that you are not looking to become a trainer or a rehab aide. However, one of the things I try to do is reduce the gap between what professionals learn and what everybody else learns. There is a big gap, and most people don't know how to navigate between it. So big a gap that the general population tends to give up and leave it to others (those on the professional side) to make the decisions for them.
There is nothing wrong with that, necessarily, but you don't have to be certified at nothing, or be a practitioner to know about something more in depth, much less when it is about yourself.
However, technical knowledge is not always what we need, or the history, or the best theory to think and learn about these things. Sometimes we need to start looking at how the information we look at is created, and from whom we learn it. It is not like they always present themselves clearly and without hidden agendas.
For many years, I’ve had the practice of not learning things as quickly and taking my time to try to see the nuance; the wording, the colors, the design, the intention behind it… the wrapping paper. And after an M.B.A. in marketing, that became even deeper.
In this "class" I will share some of the things I pay attention to when I am fishing for learning from social media or the internet in general.
As it is with anything that I share, this content is just for reference, and the idea is to help you navigate the dark, wavy, and murky waters of learning about fitness and wellness. I'm not claiming that these observations are 100 percent effective or accurate all the time, but developing awareness about these things is never too much or bad at all.
My recommendation is that while you are surfing the social media waves, to keep your eyes peeled, your ears open, and your gut feeling very present; keeping your mind sharp for:
Flashy content in videos and podcasts
Colorful thumbnails, the perfect lights, and high beat music do not always signify that there will be good information involved; no matter how much they say that these things help with motivation. I know this goes against the current trends, and marketing suggests content creators to use things that quickly catch attention (visual and auditory).
Flashy content has a lot of bright colors, and high beat sounds, combined with quick camera switches. This is generally designed to keep you from “getting bored” and to “keep you engaged” (which may or may not be true); but the issue is that these strategies are keeping us from seeing and hearing the things we need to really pay attention to; like voice inflections, facial expressions, and body language of the people we are listening to and or watching.
Learning about these factors can be the difference between understanding something and having the illusion of understanding something. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to turn into a spy level observer. Just by keeping these things in mind when you are doing your research can make a difference, and as you gain experience you’’ll be able to discriminate better.
This kind of content tends to come with a lot of cocky authority, incomplete explanations, promises, and a lot of ‘Don’t think, I’ll do it for you. But first…Click here!’, and with an almost surreal level of motivation - almost scratching the irrational.
You’ll notice that whatever valuable information they may be giving you will be after some announcements, and or at the end of the publication. Comments like “Stay until the end to receive my most valuable tips on…” are everywhere. This is not always a bad thing - but generally - content creators that focus more on education and less on business tend to do their announcements at the beginning and in a short manner.
I only use flashy content when I have difficulty finding academic stuff online. But in between flashy and academic there is a big space to explore and we shouldn’t ignore it.
I get those academic sounds boring, and it mostly is. I personally avoid academic content that has big words, and that requires PhD educational level to comprehend, or that has lots of charts and tables. On the other hand, I avoid content that lean more towards pseudoscience and cultish approaches.
When looking for educational content online (or any kind), in video or podcasts, I look for content that has little or no ads, and that has neutral colors. I listen for neutral and natural voice sounds as opposed to loud and overconfident voices.
Too much energy, too spiritual, and too positive.
Years ago, I went to a networking event where the speaker was too alive, too connected, and too happy as opposed to just alive, connected, and happy. Her energy was so overwhelming that we were all looking at each other like ‘What the hell is wrong with her?’ Such an impetus can be found not just in this kind of event but all over the internet and social media; and even on the radio and on TV.
As you surf the intersocial oceans of the interwebs keep your senses peeled for too much of anything. We need to recognize that physical activity, exercise, and movement exploration can exist regardless of what level of energy, spirituality, or positivism those aspects are at.
One of the things I try to create awareness in my learners and clients is about the glorification of fitness and wellness; and this goes from glorifying entire systems (training, nutrition) to specific foods and nutrients or moves and muscles.
Look for more grounded and neutral angles, and content that keeps the benefits down to earth, more human, less competitive, and more about you learning about it and about yourself - as opposed to you becoming part of it; another member of the tribe to be used as one more example to sell more.
That’s if you reach your goals of course. There is no space in social media for #notsucessstories.
The ‘After years of experience…’, or ‘After my last trip to the south of…’ issue.
This one may be even more confusing than whatever I have said above. The exposure to years of experience and pondering the secrets of life do help achieve enlightenment and wisdom. And on the other hand, the exposure to cultures that live more centered and grounded can also help find wisdom and enlightenment.
But these are not mystical powers or superhuman capabilities, or things that are earned only when you are exposed to something for a lot of years, or go south. Knowledge, wisdom, and enlightenment have no attachment to space and time, other than the fact that those things will happen to you whenever they do, wherever they do, however they do.
As a culture we love to hear stories of people who venture beyond the limits of their nation, and we pay a lot to learn from these stories to get the secret of who sells it to us. Or we pay for the years of experience that others have had.
That's not bad, obviously they know something that we don't, or more than we do. They ate among the tribes, and ate the exotic fruits, and made the journey; and that in itself can be enriching and worth sharing. As a fitness and wellness professional I mention a lot how many years I have been doing whatever I do. It sets some credibility.
However, we must consider that the experience that others have is theirs and that no matter how much we pay, this will continue to be their experience and not ours; and it is something you can only get by going through it.
The key here is that those who spent a lot of time doing something, and those who went south somewhere to discover themselves, left their comfort zone to do it, for whatever time it took (or that they could).
This presents another issue, however. And it is that they are selling their experience as if they could pass it onto us. The Internet is full of gurus that have found some sort of unique enlightenment, and they will tell you that they have learned the way to teach you, their secrets. “In my latest course, where I have helped transformed hundreds of people, with what I have learned during my travels…” sort of verbiage. This type of content uses either meditation type music or epic motivational music (the one that plays in the movies when the hero is saving the day). Background music can also be a distraction; from creating the illusion of motivation2 and influencing our behavior (sound marketing)3.
What proceeds here is to listen carefully, and a few times. Tuning our ears to separate - as much as possible - what is being said alone, from what is being said with music in the background. This requires practice, but with time you can develop the capacity to catch iffy content; voice inflections, and other aspects of content that are trying to influence your action with sound.
The aggressive and the Isms
(Aggressive) There is a lot of passion and emotional attachment in the world of fitness and wellness. A lot of messiah complex, savior complex, and God complex. Generally, the people who publish this kind of content tend to speak aggressively about other systems, they tend to undermine everything else, and they tend to look for ways to make you feel insufficient… in order of course to sell you the solution.
There are systems and options that are good and of great benefit to many; no matter how big their ego is. The point here is to learn not to become that kind of person; which is easier said than done? For years I have observed how people who follow aggressive content creators tend to become aggressive as well. I have seen such behavioral change online as well as with my own eyes (heck, I did it too).
Isms are ideals - moral, cultural, spiritual, etc. - that are added to a practice to elevate it, and to justify it.
Here is a video of Michale Pollan talking about the concept of Nutritionism. A very interesting topic that I recommend everyone to explore. Part of the “dark side” that I keep talking about.
Isms can be found everywhere, not just in nutrition. Just like there are “preachers” to save us from evil foods, there are also those who will “save us” from evil exercises, evil movement, evil posture…
While there are things out there that can actually save us from bad food and harmful movement, we have to be careful not to fall for ism traps that instead of helping aim to turn us into evangelists of their practice. You will notice this type of content not only because of who presents it and how, but in their comment box.
When an exercise system, a diet, or a wellness practice becomes an ism, those who follow it will defend it with teeth and nails. They will offend, they will demand shaming and reverence; and they will do this constantly to those who question the ideal - or even (or worse) be presented with a better alternative. Here you will also see excessive praise from followers; as opposed to enough praise combined with respect and intellectual disagreement.
This manifests clearly in forums, profile pages, and chats full of noisy arguments and offense. Where instead of inquiry there is demand, and instead of “Oh, that’s an interesting point. However, my angle comes from…” there is “Fuck you! You don't know shit about this. You are the problem. That’s why your body is all fucked up you son of a…”. You get it! Whenever you see that, you don’t have to leave but increase your defenses since these waters are stressful and toxic.
Here my approach is to observe who is doing the talking. If the content creator is ignoring negative and disrespectful comments, I tend to trust it more than when they engage in barking contest to see who knows best.
Closing
I know what some of you may be thinking. “This guy is telling us what to do, by telling us not to let others tell us what to do. He is a dam content creator as well”. Yet the difference is that I’m not saying that I have found any secret. And I bet that you have gotten a little confused along this writing.
As I said at the beginning, there is no guarantee that these observations of mine will be helpful to you. The only way to know that is that you try them and see for yourself. Let me know in the comments your thoughts about this topic.
Have you been paying attention to these things before? Based on your experience, can you expand on what I discuss?
If you haven't, I encourage you to be more aware of these things as you continue learning. Take your own notes, and join the conversation.
Do you believe that I missed something, or that I explained something incorrectly? What was it?
Leave your comments below.
See you next class!
I theorize that different ways to position our body don’t just affect how we can engage in movement, and how much performance we can exert in a task, but it can also affect our perception of performance without necessarily being efficient. More on this in another newsletter or podcast.
Koelsch, S., Bashevkin, T., Joakim Hellumbråten Kristensen, Tvedt, J., & Jentschke, S. (2019). Heroic music stimulates empowering thoughts during mind-wandering. Scientific Reports, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46266-w
LinkedIn. (2023). Linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-sound-how-brands-use-music-effects-influence-consumer/