ABSTRACT
The Olympic Games is the largest multisport event in the world, regularly drawing global audiences in the billions to watch coverage of athletes from hundreds of nations. It has received a great deal of scholarly attention, especially in terms of media coverage, consumption, and co-creation. As coverage has the ability to impact media consumers' perceptions of nations, cultures, and issues, it is important to develop an understanding of research trends relating to the Olympic Games and media in order to uncover gaps in the literature which may be filled by future scholarly work. Therefore, in order to highlight trends in the established literature and uncover areas for development, a systematic literature review was conducted to examine the state of Olympic media research over a 20-year time period (1999-2018). A total of 221 articles were examined, revealing insights into the types of research being produced from theoretical, methodological, and contextual perspectives. Results revealed a significant proportion of scholarship focused on the Summer Olympic Games, the United States, newspaper accounts of the Games, and utilized media framing and agenda setting frameworks and the content analysis methodology. Just over half of the studies utilized a theoretical or conceptual framework, the prevalence of which increased over time. Core areas for continued development in the Olympic media space include embracing and grounding research in theory, diversification in research context, and expanding upon the definition of the Olympic Games within the greater Olympic Movement.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Wearable activity trackers and social media have been identified as having the potential to increase physical activity among adolescents, yet little is known about the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the technology by adolescents. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to use the technology acceptance model to explore adolescents' acceptance of wearable activity trackers used in combination with social media within a physical activity intervention. METHODS: The Raising Awareness of Physical Activity study was a 12-week physical activity intervention that combined a wearable activity tracker (Fitbit Flex) with supporting digital materials that were delivered using social media (Facebook). A total of 124 adolescents aged 13 to 14 years randomized to the intervention group (9 schools) participated in focus groups immediately post intervention. Focus groups explored adolescents' perspectives of the intervention and were analyzed using pen profiles using a coding framework based on the technology acceptance model. RESULTS: Adolescents reported that Fitbit Flex was useful as it motivated them to be active and provided feedback about their physical activity levels. However, adolescents typically reported that Fitbit Flex required effort to use, which negatively impacted on their perceived ease of use. Similarly, Facebook was considered to be a useful platform for delivering intervention content. However, adolescents generally noted preferences for using alternative social media websites, which may have impacted on negative perceptions concerning Facebook's ease of use. Perceptions of technological risks included damage to or loss of the device, integrity of data, and challenges with both Fitbit and Facebook being compatible with daily life. CONCLUSIONS: Wearable activity trackers and social media have the potential to impact adolescents' physical activity levels. The findings from this study suggest that although the adolescents recognized the potential usefulness of the wearable activity trackers and the social media platform, the effort required to use these technologies, as well as the issues concerning risks and compatibility, may have influenced overall engagement and technology acceptance. As wearable activity trackers and social media platforms can change rapidly, future research is needed to examine the factors that may influence the acceptance of specific forms of technology by using the technology acceptance model. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616000899448; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=370716.
