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When Fitness Becomes Content: The Role of Digital Creation Motivation in Youth Exercise Interest

ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation · Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026)

DOI
10.15294/active.v15i1.39264
ISSN
2460-724X, 2252-6773
Published
2026-02-28
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language
eng

Abstract

The increasing trend of documenting physical activity on social media has transformed exercise into a form of digital content, yet its influence on youth exercise interest remains underexplored. This study aims to examine the effect of digital content creation motivation on exercise interest among young people. A quantitative approach was employed using a survey of 250 respondents aged 15–30 years, selected through purposive sampling. All participants were active social media users who had experience producing or engaging with exercise-related content. The research instrument consisted of 33 items adapted from motivation and exercise behavior theories, with 24 items retained after validity and reliability testing. Data were analyzed using SPSS through descriptive statistics, classical assumption tests, and simple linear regression. The results indicate that digital content creation motivation has a positive and significant effect on exercise interest (β = 0.566, p < 0.001), accounting for 32% of the variance (R² = 0.320). This finding suggests that young people tend to show greater interest in exercising when their physical activities can be documented and shared as digital content. The magnitude of the explained variance indicates that digital content creation motivation is a meaningful predictor of exercise interest. These findings conclude that digital content creation functions as a psychological and social stimulus that enhances youth engagement in physical activity. The study contributes theoretically to digital behavior research and offers practical implications for developing social media–based health campaigns to promote active lifestyles among young people.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

20 authors · 32 co-authorship links

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  • Universitas Muhammadiyah Riau
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Sufyar MudjiantoAffiliation unknown2
Nayla KhairunissyaAffiliation unknown1
Mutiara Shinta DewiAffiliation unknown1
SuciptoAffiliation unknown1
Rizky SoemantriAffiliation unknown1
NuryadiAffiliation unknown1
Agisna NurhasanahAffiliation unknown1
Marisa Noviyanti Fajrah IlsyaAffiliation unknown1
Fatih Al FiqriAffiliation unknown1
Paisal AbdullatipAffiliation unknown1
Alfhadil AkbarAffiliation unknown1
Yunyun YudianaAffiliation unknown1
Sarah Amelia FitrianiAffiliation unknown1
Helmy FirmansyahAffiliation unknown1
Bara Akmal KusumaAffiliation unknown1
SalmanUniversitas Muhammadiyah Riau1
Aryana Tri AndyaniAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc)
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">When Fitness Becomes Content: The Role of Digital Creation Motivation in Youth Exercise Interest</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Nur Alam Rahmatullah</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Carsiwan</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Lutfan Ananda Antariksa</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Digital Content Creation Motivation; Exercise Interest; Youth; Social Media; Physical Activity  </dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">The increasing trend of documenting physical activity on social media has transformed exercise into a form of digital content, yet its influence on youth exercise interest remains underexplored. This study aims to examine the effect of digital content creation motivation on exercise interest among young people. A quantitative approach was employed using a survey of 250 respondents aged 15–30 years, selected through purposive sampling. All participants were active social media users who had experience producing or engaging with exercise-related content. The research instrument consisted of 33 items adapted from motivation and exercise behavior theories, with 24 items retained after validity and reliability testing. Data were analyzed using SPSS through descriptive statistics, classical assumption tests, and simple linear regression. The results indicate that digital content creation motivation has a positive and significant effect on exercise interest (β = 0.566, p &amp;lt; 0.001), accounting for 32% of the variance (R² = 0.320). This finding suggests that young people tend to show greater interest in exercising when their physical activities can be documented and shared as digital content. The magnitude of the explained variance indicates that digital content creation motivation is a meaningful predictor of exercise interest. These findings conclude that digital content creation functions as a psychological and social stimulus that enhances youth engagement in physical activity. The study contributes theoretically to digital behavior research and offers practical implications for developing social media–based health campaigns to promote active lifestyles among young people.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2026-02-28</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/article/view/39264</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/active.v15i1.39264</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation; Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026)</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2460-724X</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2252-6773</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/active.v15i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/article/view/39264/7707</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2026 ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>