Table 1. Characteristics of Relevant #thinspo and #fitspo Tweets Collected From Twitter During a Constructed Weeka, May 2016.
| Characteristic | No. (%)b
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| #thinspo Tweets (n = 458) | #fitspo Tweets (n = 238) | All Tweets (n = 696) | |
| Engagement with tweet | |||
| Retweets, median (IQR) | 20 (9-45) | 0 (0–0) | 8 (0–31) |
| Likes, median (IQR) | 25 (9.25–53) | 0 (0–1.0) | 9.5 (1–34) |
| Replies | 82 (17.9) | 12 (5.0) | 94 (13.5) |
| Tweet features and topics | |||
| Tweet is in English | 397 (86.7) | 232 (97.5) | 629 (90.4) |
| Tweet text is hashtags only | 141 (30.8) | 21 (8.8) | 162 (23.3) |
| Tweet is an advertisement or a fitness/diet tip that appears promotional | 1 (0.2) | 164 (68.9) | 165 (23.7) |
| Tweet includes a link to a website | 0 | 140 (58.8) | 140 (20.1) |
| Linked website is about dieting | 0 | 115 (48.3) | 115 (16.5) |
| Linked website is about healthy eating | 0 | 3 (1.3) | 3 (0.4) |
| Linked website is about physical activity | 0 | 8 (3.4) | 8 (1.1) |
| Linked website is about something else | 0 | 18 (7.6) | 18 (2.6) |
| Link is broken | 0 | 8 (3.4) | 8 (1.1) |
| The tweet includes a mention | 223 (48.7) | 67 (28.2) | 290 (41.7) |
| The tweet includes links to images/videos | 447 (97.6) | 178 (74.8) | 625 (89.8) |
| Images/videos focus on food | 0 | 32 (13.4) | 32 (4.6) |
| Images show healthy food | 0 | 19 (8.0) | 19 (2.7) |
| Images show unhealthy food | 0 | 2 (0.8) | 2 (0.3) |
| Images show a combination of healthy/unhealthy food | 0 | 11 (4.6) | 11 (1.6) |
| Images/videos are a body or parts of a body | 435 (95.0) | 114 (47.9) | 549 (78.9) |
| Full body | 243 (53.1) | 44 (18.5) | 287 (41.2) |
| Waist–stomach–hips | 155 (33.8) | 8 (3.4) | 163 (23.4) |
| Torso | 161 (35.2) | 28 (11.8) | 189 (27.2) |
| Neck–shoulders | 71 (15.5) | 27 (11.3) | 98 (14.1) |
| Arms | 36 (7.9) | 6 (2.5) | 42 (6.0) |
| Thighs–legs | 161 (35.2) | 2 (0.8) | 163 (23.4) |
| Butt | 12 (2.6) | 0 | 12 (1.7) |
| Image/video includes one or more person who appears to be . . . | |||
| Extremely skinny or skeletal | 346 (75.5) | 8 (3.4) | 354 (50.9) |
| Muscular | 3 (0.7) | 45 (18.9) | 48 (6.9) |
| Image/video includes one or more person who appears to be . . . | |||
| Male only | 0 | 15 (6.3) | 15 (2.2) |
| Female only | 435 (95.0) | 91 (38.2) | 526 (75.6) |
| Both | 0 | 7 (2.9) | 7 (1.0) |
| Unable to tell | 0 | 1 (0.4) | 1 (0.1) |
| The Twitter user discourages or makes fun of doing something unhealthy or extreme | |||
| Yes | 2 (0.4) | 1 (0.4) | 3 (0.4) |
| No | 399 (87.1) | 230 (96.6) | 629 (90.4) |
| Neutral or unable to tell | 57 (12.4) | 7 (2.9) | 64 (9.2) |
Abbreviation: IQR, interquartile range.
a
Constructed week defined as one Sunday, one Monday, one Tuesday, one Wednesday, one Thursday, one Friday, and one Saturday chosen at random from a specified period of time.
b
Unless otherwise indicated.