In their book sharing results from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, Harvard researchers Marc Schulz and Robert Waldinger noted that social relationships were key across their participants. Relationships, they concluded, were essential to the “good life.” (See their book, The Good Life). The researchers rely on the concept of social fitness as a way to name and measure this quality of having and nurturing positive social relationships. One researcher (McGene 2014) defines social fitness as, “the combined resources a person gets from his or her social world. This concept encompasses the availability and maintenance of social relationships, and the ability to utilize those ties to manage stressors and successfully perform tasks. Social fitness resources are the aspects of those relationships that strengthen a person's ability to withstand and rebound from challenges (e.g., stress, threat, or disaster) or even grow from them.” In other words, one can reflect on their social fitness as they consider the happiness and fulfillment levels of their life.
With social fitness playing such a key role in one’s overall happiness and well-being, it is perhaps no surprise that we ideally engage in activities that build and sustain relationships and maintain or grow our social fitness. For the most part in the Harvard study, such social fitness is considered in physical space and physical relationships. Research on the role of digital social fitness, such as that found in social networking sites like Snapchat and Facebook, is limited if not supplemented by physical space interactions. In other words, there is something special about meeting people in person and socializing, whether that is over coffee, beer, or running. Moreover, activities that include a strong social fitness aspect make us more likely to continue that activity.
In my most recent teaching of a class focused on social media, I found myself struggling with how to define social media and social networking. What interests and confounds me is the rise of instrumental, everyday apps that include and promote social aspects. It seems that many app developers are using traditional instrumental and non-social apps in more social ways, perhaps hooking into the strong role social fitness plays in our fulfillment and happiness. In addition, such social instrumental apps begin playing important relational roles in our lives, not only adding a digital and social aspect to a mundane activity but also making our commitment or connection to such activity, and those we do it with, stronger. At the same time, such apps may strengthen our social fitness, especially if there is a real world aspect to digital social fitness. And, to be clear, I don’t see these apps as competing or conflicting with traditional social media or social networking apps; as I’ve worked through in class while defining these apps alongside social media and social networking sites and apps, they seem to offer a third way, relying on but not replacing traditional social media/networking. I’ll offer some examples to explore this growing relational and digital aspect of our lives and its impact on social fitness.
Over the past ten to fifteen years, we have seen the rise of a reaction to large, global gyms for physical fitness to more niche, specialized, or in-group “gyms.” One example is the rise of CrossFit, both as a fitness methodology and as a brand. CrossFit gyms, referred to as boxes, present what some see as cult-ish locations for the workout of the day; a workout that will be consistent at a box for the day and may be consistent and systematized across other Crossfit boxes. There is a bond formed in not only learning and practicing similar moves to other crossfitters, as well as sharing jargon, but also engaging in similar workouts. For example, last Saturday, many Crossfit boxes across the world, completed a workout titled Chad, consisting of 1000 step-ups onto a box. Such similarity fosters a strong social connection, allowing Crossfitters to relate to each other across boxes and the globe. In addition, dropping into another box, say when traveling, brings comfortable and familiar activities and contexts. In some ways, each box is a ready-made community awaiting new members.
At the heart of Crossfit’s popularity and customer engagement is not just the physical fitness aspect; CrossFit has masterfully created an environment of social fitness relationships. Perhaps, this aspect is where the “cult” comments develop. Even within individual boxes, members develop strong bonds with fellow members, leading in many cases to friendships, and even marriages, beyond the box. Whereas I may only disappoint myself if I fail to go running or to the Y in the morning, if I fail to go to CrossFit for my regular 6:30 am class, I know I’ll get an email from friends asking where I was and why I missed. As Garcia-Fernandez, et. al. (2020) describe, “This tribal sense is especially interesting in helping to understand the social meaning that this activity has for people. They find in this form of fitness consumption not only physical improvements, but also the recognition of the group of peers itself” (207). A subtle dependence develops between CrossFitters that encourages attendance. Obviously, from a marketing and business perspective such dependence and relationship development is great and profitable. Members are invested in the physical and social aspects of their box and, many times, may forget they are paying for this service/membership. Such features of CrossFit, “seem to provide CrossFit centres with a sense of community and social capital (both bridging and bonding), greater than the traditional gyms (Whiteman-Sandland, Hawkins, and Clayton, 2018), which may result in greater user motivation and therefore to influence in the adherence to physical activity (Fisher et al. 2017)” (Garcia-Fernandez, et. al. 2020, 207).
In the past few years, CrossFit boxes have adopted mobile digital apps as part of their gym. These apps allow members to check-in for classes and familiarize themselves with the workout of the day. In addition, such apps promote social fitness via the ability to record scores and times, as well as comment and like fellow members scores and times. If I record my score on a workout, I may obtain “fistbumps” throughout the day, as well as humorous or supportive comments and GIFs. In turn, I may comment and “fistbump” fellow members’ workout scores. Such digital apps, originally introduced to share workouts with members and record attendance, now add a digital social aspect to the physical happenings of the gym and each class. Such affordances supplement and strengthen the bonds formed in the physical classes. These apps fall outside of traditional social media or social networking apps, but they do represent the influence of such apps in their daily use and design. In turn, these apps may strengthen the social fitness of CrossFit gym members, reinforcing the in-person social fitness built in working out together.
Perhaps more explicitly working the boundaries between social networking and fitness is Strava. Strava presents itself as the “social network for athletes,” allowing users to record and track workouts while also connecting and sharing with friends. As Couture (2021) explains, “There are many products on the market designed to help athletes get fitter, faster, or stronger. For Gainey and Horvath [the founders], Strava was about finding a way to keep people connected, entertained, and motivated in between their workouts” (185). However, grouping these apps into social networking limits the roles they play with their users and the ways in which they build social fitness and relationships. The physical activity, whether that is a CrossFit workout or a run, is central and becomes a relational bridge between two users. Couture (2021) notes that the types of data shared is what set these apps apart from social networking apps such as Snapchat. And while Strava has a massive userbase, many users form smaller groups called Strava Clubs. Such clubs allow offline relationships to grow online via the app as well. Rather than self-surveillance or healthism, the use of digital apps in both the CrossFit and running/cycling worlds strike me as striving for and building social fitness, seeking positive and confirming relationships noted in the Harvard study.
Outside of the physical fitness realm, another instrumental app that has added social aspects is the mobile payment app Venmo. At its root, Venmo is a digital payment app allowing users to pay others and accept payment from others. Many times, Venmo is used within one’s social circle, especially amongst its younger userbase. Venmo provides a social feed which captures payment exchanges, allowing and encouraging the use of emojis and short text tags for transactions. In turn, users can scroll their Venmo social feed to see their “friends’” recent transactions, providing options for comments or likes. While the social feed does not share transaction amounts, it does create a record of transactions and, in turn, relationships. In this sense, a user’s everyday relationships and their physical world social fitness can be documented and even supplemented by a digital record for others to see. Moreover, within the captions and emojis used in Venmo, users can create inside jokes that strengthen offline communities and relationships. Unlike traditional social media or social networks, Venmo is a payment app at its root, similar to many other payment apps. However, Venmo includes a social aspect as a way to strengthen the relational aspects of transactions. My recent research into Venmo use among college students reflects the ways in which users’ build social fitness through the social feed whether that’s through inside jokes or simply being included in events highlighted in a transaction. As such, Venmo and CrossFit apps like SugarWOD hold similar affordances for users, as well as their gyms or companies. The supporting and strengthening of social fitness in the digital realm builds customer engagement and loyalty.
The increasing presence of social elements in traditionally instrumental apps is inevitable. Within the realm of youth sports, we see apps formerly used for sharing game schedules and game results now allowing for messaging, commenting, and liking. The social creep into traditionally mundane everyday instrumental apps will only continue. While in my social media class this presents some definitional complications (Where do such apps fit on the social media/social networking spectrum?) I see the more interesting and important futures as to how such apps foster, support, and impact daily relationships and the fostering of social fitness. In discussing their findings from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, Marc Schulz and Robert Waldinger note the decrease in “sticky institutions.” Such a decrease may be reflected in the unprecedented numbers of people leaving churches, for example, documented in the recent book, The Great Dechurching (Davis, Graham, Burge 2023). Beyond the difficulties caused by this decrease in “sticky institutions,” Schulz and Waldinger also note the role geographic fluidity plays in relationships. Unsurprisingly, long term social fitness can be tested by such fluidity, leading people to supplement such social fitness elsewhere.
Recent research shows that social media users seeking relationships or to maintain relationships via social media experience higher levels of loneliness: “Thus, for those with predominant ‘maintaining contact’ motives, spending more time on social media may be like striving for a type of contact that is difficult to fully accomplish online. More time spent striving for meaningful relationships on social media may therefore result in a deeper sense of loneliness” (Bonsaksen, et. al. 2023). Ultimately, social media on its own is not a reliable and consistent source of social fitness. Even when used to maintain relationships, social media/networking platforms can increase feelings of loneliness and, seemingly, decrease levels of social fitness. Such findings not only highlight the importance of physical relationships in developing and sustaining our happiness and fulfillment but also indicate the uniqueness of instrumental apps including more ritualistic and social motivations and opportunities. Apps such as SugarWOD are not substitutes for going to a CrossFit gym and building relationships, just as Venmo is not a replacement for actually going to get late night ice cream with friends. Rather, such apps supplement and strengthen those relationships, providing that “in between motivation” offered by Strava. In turn, these apps promote themselves as a supplement to the in betweens of social fitness. Over time, such apps may combat or mediate the detrimental impacts of less “sticky” institutions and geographical fluidity, buttressing users’ social fitness. Lana Swartz (2020), in her book New Money, concludes, “Venmo is not a wallet; it is a conversation” (132). As witnessed in SugarWOD or Strava, Venmo is not alone in its conversational qualities and, from a social fitness aspect, these may be conversations worth investing in.
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