Search
shop

Survey: Does the use of technology increase the risk of addiction to exercise in endurance athletes?

Is technology at risk of causing exercise addiction in long distance triathletes? Dr Josephine Perry is conducting a research survey and wants your help
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -

Dr Josephine Perry, a sports psychology consultant and Age Group triathlete has just set up a new research project and is looking for participants, particularly long distance triathletes.

Previous research suggests that up to 20% of triathletes are at risk of exercise addiction and that the risk rises as the distances and amount of time training increase. So she is curious to see if the risk is significantly higher for long distance triathletes.

Research has also shown that, for those who don’t do much exercise, gamifying it though social media challenges or apps can make the person much more likely to stick to exercise. But what does that mean for those already committed to exercising? Anecdotally there are many stories of how triathletes find that this gamification of their exercise through sites like Strava or Garmin increase their likelihood to stick to their training, even when sometimes their health, work or family commitments will suffer as a result. This project wants to see if the data backs up these anecdotes.

Josephine is looking for runners (who have competed at Marathon distance or over), cyclists (who regularly ride 100km or over), swimmers (swimming over 5k) and triathletes (who compete at Half ironman distance or over) to complete the survey. It can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/G8XJS7J

The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete and if the athlete gives their contact details they will receive personalised results around their risk of addiction to exercise and links to information and support resources should they find that they are at risk.

John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
Challenge The Championship Marjolaine Pieree
How to qualify for Challenge The Championship – and why it should be on your triathlon bucket list
Cadomotus aero triathlon cycling shoes
Can your triathlon cycling shoes make you faster? How shoe choice could speed up your triathlon finish times
French Riviera T100 bike course Esterel
Is this the ultimate middle distance triathlon bike course? We rode the French Riviera T100 bike course and it’s EPIC
Ironman gear guide – everything you need to get to the finish line of a full distance triathlon
Challenge St. Pölten 2024 - image credit Jose Luis Hourcade / Challenge Family
Expert swim coach on the three most common swim mistakes age group triathletes make (and how to fix them!)
latest News
Kristian Blummenfelt wins 703 Aix en Provence 2025
Kristian Blummenfelt eyes IRONMAN World Championship 1-2-3 for Norwegians
Kat Matthews vs Laura Philipp
IRONMAN Hamburg pro women’s start list: Laura Philipp vs Kat Matthews in World Championship rematch
Lionel Sanders wins 70.3 St George 2025 photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
Triathlon superstar Lionel Sanders says he went to a “dark place” to fuel his latest IRONMAN win
The PTO's CEO Sam Renouf
PTO reveal ambitions of matching Roth and Kona as French Riviera T100 triathlon course details unveiled
Sam Long St George 2024 photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
‘No No No’ – Sam Long says he felt ROBBED by swim cancellation at ‘69.1 Chattanooga’
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

Share to...