Comparison of Motivation to Participate in Physical Activity between Individuals with and without Smartwatch Use

This study aimed to determine and compare the motivations of individuals using and not using smartwatches with the physical activity tracking feature to engage in physical activity. Of the 311 individuals who were contacted on social media platforms and volunteered to participate in the study, randomly selected 100 individuals, half using smartwatches and half not using smartwatches, were included in the sample. As data collection tools, a personal information form prepared by the researchers was used to determine the personal characteristics of the participants, and the fitness/energy release and action/activity status subscales of the Participation Motivation Questionnaire (PMQ), developed by Gill et al. in 1983 and adapted to Turkish by Oyar et al. in 2001, was administered to measure the participants' level of engaging in physical activity. The data obtained from the data collection tools were subjected to statistical analyses using SPSS v. 26 software. Parametrical statistics were used in line with the results of the data normality test. According to the research findings, the participants who used smartwatches had a significantly higher score in the fitness/energy release subscale of PMQ (x2.14 +/-.466) compared to those that did not use smartwatches (g1.79 +/-.351) (p=.036). According to the point-biserial correlation analysis, there was a statistically significant, positive, and strong correlation between using smartwatches and motivation to participate in sports for the fitness/energy release subscale (rpb=.694, p<.001).