Sit Is Not Lit : applied communication research on the moderating factors of gain-loss messaging to address sedentary behaviour on social media

Abstract

Sit Is Not Lit is an applied research campaign aimed at addressing sedentary behaviour in young Singaporean adults aged 18-34, with research showing that 37% engage in excessive sitting over 8 hours a day (Win et al., 2015). Our project aims to motivate young adults to (a) set reminders, (b) take breaks, and (c) walking 10,000 steps by examining the interplay between message framing (gain- vs loss-framed messages), modality (single modality vs multimodality), peer influence (peer vs non-peer influence), as well as individual factors (injunctive norms, descriptive norms, and self-efficacy) using a digital health campaign held on Instagram. We first conducted focus group discussions (n=18) to test out messaging and further modify experimental stimuli meant for our pilot campaign. Next, we conducted a 2-week Instagram health campaign by using a 2 (gain vs loss) x 2 (single- vs multimodal) x 2 (non-peer vs peer influence) between-subject experimental field design across 2 weeks (n=249). Our key findings were (a) self-efficacy was found to amplify effectiveness of both gain- and loss- framing by motivating participants to set break reminders, with gain-framed messaging yielding more significant effects, (b) the presence of peer influence in messaging amplifies effect of loss-framed messages by increasing positive attitudes to take breaks but reduces that for gain-framed ones, and (c) injunctive norms amplify the framing effect by effecting more positive attitudes to take 10,000 steps. This paper also presents suggestions on how public health campaigns can utilise messaging strategies to increase the likelihood of young adults taking charge of their health and addressing sedentary behaviour. Keywords: sedentary behaviour, young adults, framing, Instagram, social media