Why do young people use fitness apps? Cognitive characteristics and app quality

This study examined the effects of young adults’ social-cognitive characteristics and fitness apps’ quality-related characteristics on users’ intention to continue using apps. This study used a self-report questionnaire to collect data from 201 participants between November 29 and December 16, 2016. PASW/WIN 20.0 was used to perform Pearson’s correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results showed that users’ social-cognitive characteristics and the app’ quality-related characteristics accounted for 39.3 and 1.6% of users’ intention to continue using fitness apps, respectively. Social-cognitive characteristics included quality-related app characteristics, which explained 40.9% of users’ intention to continue using the apps. Self-efficacy, innovative propensity, outcome expectations, and engagement were key variables affecting the intention to continue using apps. Therefore, it is suggested that researchers or healthcare providers who want to utilize fitness apps for young adults could invest time and effort in the selection of existing high-quality apps and design intervention programs to stimulate users’ social-cognitive factors.