Article Link Fitness Celebrity Instructor Influencer Workout Trends

[sheepla]

I thought this article was very interesting.

https://www.theringer.com/features/2...-trends-future

I have been live streaming yoga classes from studio and really enjoyed it. I haven't gotten on board with any other live stream classes though.

[Leonana]

That was an interesting article. I can see that I have a parasocial connection with fitness instructors to some extent. Fitness has improved my physical health, mental health, ability and looks to some extent. I do feel a grateful emotional connection to that.

However, I don’t really want to be close to instructors on a friend level. I like some distance. Maybe because I’m an introvert, and I only have so much emotional energy to go around. I like knowing if they are married or have any kids, and I like seeing their pets. Obviously, I can give sympathy over the loss of a loved one or pet. I’m uncomfortable with much more than that.

[hch]

Thanks for posting! (When this thread was new, I was having significant problems that affected my ability to read and to post, and although those things have improved, I'm still recovering. Thinking about other threads reminded me that I hadn't replied to this one, especially now I can read the article with fewer distractions.)

This piece and other things--other reading and an observation about a commercial--help confirm how alien the idea of a parasocial relationship feels to me. In my whole life, I've probably never had one. I'm also reminded of the old thread Does a video instructor have to be your "friend"?

Originally Posted by Leonana

However, I don’t really want to be close to instructors on a friend level. I like some distance. Maybe because I’m an introvert, and I only have so much emotional energy to go around. I like knowing if they are married or have any kids, and I like seeing their pets. Obviously, I can give sympathy over the loss of a loved one or pet. I’m uncomfortable with much more than that.

I'm not even that interested in instructors' personal lives!

Even so, I don't inherently oppose the idea of befriending an instructor, but I wouldn't consider myself An Instructor's Friend simply because I regularly used and liked that instructor's work.

Any such friendship should feel natural--all without odd emotional developments, presumption ("since I think of you as my friend, we must truly be friends, and since we're friends, I don't have to ask you what you think our relationship is!" ), even the appearance of ulterior motives (such as "befriending" instructors to try to get special discounts or "befriending" customers to try to build customer loyalty ), and other dangers.

I'm more likely to have, or to want to have, friendly conversations about fitness-related topics with instructors--especially those whose views of and messages about fitness are aligned with what I prefer--regardless of whether I see them as "friends."

If I somehow ever became an instructor or an instructor's friend, I wouldn't imagine myself revealing too much personal detail without good reason. I'm already private and don't even like chatting about my life details on VF.