If you鈥檝e spent time on social media recently you have probably been exposed to 鈥溾 content. You may have been instructed to dip your toes in or let the sun shine .
Wellness trends such as or may be benign for most people, while others such as , , or carry real risks.
The online spaces where they circulate can also be harmful, serving as breeding grounds for , , and misuse of and drugs.
It鈥檚 easy to dismiss followers of extreme wellness trends as gullible or . But research suggests personality traits may help explain why some educated, well-intentioned people sometimes reject conventional medicine in favour of .
The big five personality traits
Psychologists have shown that many aspects of human personality can be described via five fundamental dimensions, of which we all have varying levels.
Two of these traits 鈥 openness and agreeableness 鈥 are particularly relevant to people鈥檚 interest in . (The remaining three traits are conscientiousness, extraversion and neuroticism.)
People high in are curious, imaginative and adventurous. They question tradition and are attracted to and unconventional ideas. As a result, they are more likely to try new and unorthodox diets or treatments.
Highly are trusting, cooperative and empathetic. They are very receptive to emotional messages, especially when they appeal to ideas of caring for others and benefiting the community.
These personality traits also influence how people . People higher in openness tend to , preferring to seek novel or unconventional sources rather than relying on established information channels.
Because they value harmony, trust and maintaining relationships, highly agreeable people tend to give greater weight to information that comes from . They do so even when this information has not been critically evaluated.
Personality and persuasive influence
In the , high levels of openness and agreeableness can make people .
Influencers have a . They can . Open people can be seduced by original, eye-catching content, and agreeable people by community-focused narratives.
Influencers cultivate one-sided 鈥溾 relationships in which followers feel an intimate connection with someone they have never met. These close bonds, coupled with the open personality鈥檚 attraction to unconventional ideas, can draw people into .
Openness to new experiences and being interpersonally agreeable are usually seen as strengths. However, in the buzzing, emotionally charged environment of online wellness culture they can become vulnerabilities.
From ice baths to anti-vax
Not all wellness practices peddled by online influencers are harmful. But some relatively innocuous trends can be a .
Someone might start taking , move on to restrictive raw diets for 鈥溾, and eventually arrive at grounded in deep mistrust of health authorities.
can occur if a trusted influencer makes increasingly extreme recommendations. If the influencer pivots to more , many followers will follow.
Over time, exposure to fringe wellness narratives . What began as curiosity and warmth may, through repeated exposure to extreme content, cynicism and institutional mistrust.
How can public health messages adapt?
Public health campaigns sometimes assume people reject mainstream health advice or have low 鈥溾.
But if personality traits influence receptiveness to alternative wellness claims, simply giving people more information may not produce positive change.
Public health campaigns should for . They can target people high in openness, for example, by presenting health science as dynamic and evolving, not just a set of rules and prescriptions. They can reach highly agreeable people with health .
To be effective for all of us, public health communication needs to be as engaging as the . It must use eye-catching visuals, personal stories, and moral hooks while remaining truthful.
People who engage in extreme or unusual wellness practices aren鈥檛 merely misinformed. Often, they鈥檙e driven by the same urge to explore, connect, and live well as everyone else. The challenge we face is to steer that drive toward health, not harm.
, PhD Candidate in Public Health & Community Medicine, School of Population Health, and , Professor of Psychology,
This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .
