Spreading fitness literacy as biohacking on YouTube : the body as self-actualisation

Abstract

Despite the excellent health care of modern times, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and autoimmune disorders are increasing at a startling rate. Modern society contributes to behaviours such as poor nutrition, inactivity, social isolation, poor sleep habits, excessive stress, as well as the consumption of various damaging substances (Stancic 2021: Communicable versus Noncommunicable Diseases). However, regular exercise has been proven to reduce the chance of health problems and more information about ways to improve the quality of one’s lifestyle and potentially extend one’s life-expectancy is available through the internet. This research explores a digitally mediated phenomenon of bio-literacy that promotes healthy lifestyle or “bio-hacking” practices of the lay person in popular participatory culture spaces, such as YouTube. The pedagogical effect that do-it-yourself (DIY) biohacking YouTube videos have on shaping the knowledge, attitude and fitness of the general public is examined. It is argued that this form of literacy enables corporeal control and transformation and that the digital platform contributes to DIY healthcare. The research draws parallels between the historical impact of the invention of the printing press on public literacy, and the current effect of social media on improving the global public’s health and fitness literacy, leading to what is described as a fitness revolution or megatrend. Discourse analysis was carried out on case studies from top-performing fitness channels to determine the impact of biohacking YouTube media consumption. While user engagement on popular fitness videos reflected different degrees of understanding of fitness practices, analysis of user engagement clearly revealed aspects of increased fitness literacy in public discourse on YouTube. It is concluded that contemporary social networking sites, such as YouTube, stimulate participatory knowledge production and an increase in biohacking practices that enhance audience fitness literacy, thereby contributing to the fitness megatrend and influencing DIY healthcare of the lay public.