BCM241 - How does the University experience impact the health of students?

Attending University is not a walk in the park yet it is a popular path for many. University can be incredibly straining on students which raises the question of how does the University experience impact the health of students?

For many, students to continue living at home whilst at University is an option, but for others, it involves moving away and living out of home which can take a toll on one's health. Studies conducted have shown that University students have satisfactory dietary habits, however, students’ physical activity levels, knowledge of healthy and unhealthy diet habits, and nutritional knowledge require improvement. It was through the skill of problematising and contextualising that the issue of University students’ health was able to be identified, and shape my DA to help solve this problem.

The media niche that I have chosen to explore this semester is that of University students who are living out of home. As a full-time University student that lives out of home and works casually 20+ hours a week, it is difficult to find a balance and prioritise time to cook proper meals on a budget and still engage in sufficient physical activity. There are so many variables to juggle that drastically affect one’s health, and there is a need for content to support University students.

The aim of my DA will be to entertain, educate and motivate University students to prioritise healthy eating habits and exercise as there are reciprocal relationships between health, health behaviour and educational achievement. The platform used for my DA will be TikTok due to the affordances provided by the short video format of the app. Furthermore, TikTok is the largest growing social media platform with 60% of users being aged between 16-24, which includes the average University age student.

The content produced in my DA will target critical areas that affect University students’ health such as diet and physical activity levels. A series of short videos will be produced, utilising voiceovers and trending sounds and hashtags in order to reach the desired niche. The videos will include meal ideas for University students who are on budget and need healthy and easy meals to cook. There will also be videos that focus on physical activity, suggesting short workout ideas or nice walks to do within the Shoalhaven area. The use of hashtags act as metadata operating behind web pages, enabling users to ‘move in non-linear directions from one page onto pages that have something in common. My research needs to use the skill of including, which will involve gaining a deeper perspective of marginalised groups that may have unique socio-economic and socio-cultural experiences. My research project will also need to show flexibility, as content is produced and feedback is analysed, to better tailor my content to the niche and ensure it is serving its purpose for the audience.

Whilst exploring this niche, I have found that TikTok Influencers such as @zoetheolive (TikTok), and @ymoug (TikTok) have generated a following by appealing to the niche of University students that need meal ideas whilst on a budget. Influencer Rachel Dillion owns @movewithus (TikTok), where she has a variety of “busy girl workouts” and “busy girl” meal ideas that are shared and can also be purchased, which appeals to University students with jam-packed days.

Lawson (2020) explores how influencers are able to create “wide-ranging, diverse online communities that span social media platforms”. So that Influencers are able to generate online communities to produce niche content that appeals to certain groups by generating an appealing online persona. An Ethnographic investigation into Influencers with online personas will allow me to better generate content to reach this niche and better utilise the variety of affordances provided on the TikTok platform. I will specifically be focusing on the content produced by @movewithus as Rachel Dillion, is a personal trainer which is what I am currently working towards alongside my University degree. The visual aesthetics used in her videos draw in viewers, and her friendly and engaging persona positions her favourably in the fitness and health TikTok community.

https://soundcloud.com/ella-saunders-874403075/podcast-blog-1

I am looking forward to further developing this DA, to increase my own knowledge of health and start habits that will benefit myself and others who are struggling to balance the University experience with health.

You will be able to follow along at @2brokeunichicks.