Findings
Findings
Throughout the 12 influencers studied, common trends emerged in terms of comment behavior, practices of interaction, and emotional language. With the results, it is evident that influencers do not just display authenticity, but rather it is a continuous process that is interpreted, challenged, and strengthened by followers in social interactions.
Instructional Engagement
Instructional Engagement
Followers would ask questions, compare their own progress, and seek advice when the influencers showed expertise by performing structured workouts, showing effort, or technical demonstrations. In such instances, the influencers were considered authoritative sources of fitness information.
Verification-Seeking
Verification-Seeking
Posts of very developed bodies or theatrical physical outcomes made the followers doubt and question whether it was edited or was genuine. Credibility could not be received until followers had evidence in the form of proof, explanations, or evidence of progress.
Collective Defense
Collective Defense
In the case of negative news surrounding influencers, their supporters would leap to their defense. Positive remarks would make criticism seem unjust and have long-term followers as guardians of the influence's credibility.
Skepticism
Skepticism
When a post appeared overly staged or disconnected from an influencer’s usual tone, skepticism spread quickly. Followers often reinforced each other’s doubt through humor, mockery, or accusations of performative behavior.
Reaffirmation
Reaffirmation
In response to controversy or other open criticism, followers occasionally reacted by reasserting, along with affirming their loyalty and stating that they will continue to trust.
Authenticity was a social judgment that came about in the process of interacting with the audience, and not an independent judgment made by the influencers.
The patterns of conversation support the view that the concept of authenticity is not an immutable characteristic but a negotiated social judgment. This is in line with Reade (2021), who contended that authenticity in the fitness culture is a well-controlled communicative activity, as opposed to an actual personality trait. The same result was reported by Kashian (2024), who concluded that self-disclosure influences how followers judge influencers and is evident here in the fact that followers actively challenged and enforced authenticity claims as opposed to passively accepting these claims.
The development of parasocial relationships is based on shared participation. There were four repetitive interactional practices that demonstrated how the influencers and the followers developed parasocial proximity with time.
Shared Community Language
Shared Community Language
The phrases, nicknames, and inside jokes, which were created by the influencers, were used continuously by the followers and formed a familiar group identity.
Narrative Continuation
Narrative Continuation
The follower referred to older posts, recalled previous happenings, and made requests to be updated as influencer material was a continuation of a personal narrative.
Accountability Narration
Accountability Narration
Follower accountability was also a shared accountability area, as in fitness challenges and workout programs, participants publicly recorded their own progress.
Real-World Extension
Real-World Extension
Certain parasocial connections were not limited to digital interaction, as the run clubs, classes, and physical meetings demonstrated that, in some cases, the digital proximity turned into physical involvement.
The four identified patterns of interaction can be used to support the argument of Aw et al. (2022) that parasocial relationships on social media can be maintained through habitual interaction rather than passive exposure alone. The patterns in this case are an expression of a more collaborative relationship with the followers contributing to a sense of common meaning, continuity in plot, and even physical community, where Tukachinsky and Stever (2019) have proposed parasocial bonds as one-sided. This indicates a shift of parasocial relationships within the lifestyle fitness culture towards what could be called participatory intimacy.
Three Emotional Registers influenced follower responses. The language used by the followers was separated into three emotions based on the kind of content that was relayed.
Admiration and Aspiration
Admiration and Aspiration
Fitness updates and muscle-related workouts generated a sense of admiration. Influencers were defined as goals, inspiration or motivation by the followers.
Identification
Identification
The individual revelations and daily lives made the followers express the same experience and emotions.
Attachment, Dependency, and Caretaking
Attachment, Dependency, and Caretaking
Other remarks displayed more emotionally invested comments, such as reliance on influencer behaviors, worry in times of controversy, and displays of enduring attachment.
Different content types triggered different emotional relationships.
The three identified emotional registers are the well-being implications of parasocial bonds as described by Hoffner and Bond (2022), in which a sense of emotional investment may both reinforce and be confounding to the self-perception of the followers. The dependency and caretaking language present especially is an extension of the findings by Mardon et al. (2023) on eroded intimacies, in which the profound emotional dependence on an influencer may further intensify when the authenticity is doubted. Combined, these emotional tendencies imply that the content of lifestyle fitness serves as a motivational tool and emotional anchor to various followers.
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