The influence of social networks in life has changed the way of training in the gym. It is increasingly common for people to record and share their exercise routine, just as what he eats or the concerts he is going to. The debate, however, is growing among those who defend the freedom to share content making the perfect squat, raising weights or in a class of spinning and those who seek to sweat in peace without appearing in anyone’s video.
It is estimated that the industry of the fitness In Spain it generates about 2.1 billion euros a year and has 5.4 million customers, according to a report published by Obs Business School. Around 40% of these users are between 14 and 24 years old, which represents a strip of the very active population in social networks. Although it is not the only one. The link between the platforms and the sports world has become an extraordinary reef that take advantage of gyms, coaches and influencersbut also anonymous users of all ages.
Laura Moreno is a 32 -year -old personal trainer who records her exercises in a gym of a well -known chain and then goes up to Instagram. “It is very useful for generating content, to show some technique or to explain training routines to my customers,” he says. Moreno discovered in networks an easy and fast way to make known, but understands that his activity can be annoying for other people. Sometimes there are people who ask you not to go out in the images. “You always have to record with certain precautions to try to get as many people as possible,” he insists.
Rodrigo is also 32 years old and is one of those people who usually go to the bottom of the gym videos. “It bothers me. Before people came to get fit, but now, with this social networks, everything has become a posture,” he says at the exit of training. “Beyond seeing you beautiful or handsome, you are motivating other people who want to achieve the same goal,” says Moreno. “For me, to be recorded; as long as they do not bother to carry a very apparent tripod or monopolize the devices for a long time,” says Borja González, 35, a user for more than 15 years of several gyms. “when I started, I was motivated to see the content of a youtuberStrongman Tarrako. His routines helped me a lot, although I don’t like to record and climb it to networks, ”says González.
The Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) imposed a fine of 21,000 euros a few weeks ago to a three -song gym, in Madrid, for not guaranteeing the free and adequate consent of its partners during the recording of a class. The client denounced that he was recorded with the mobile of one of the center’s monitors to upload the session to social networks without having been correctly informed. After two years, the AEPD concluded that the gym violated the data protection regulations and gave the user reason. “More and more these types of crimes grow on the Internet and those affected,” says the social media expert lawyer Pablo Maza.
-In Spain, the use of mobile phones to record images in gyms is mainly regulated by privacy and data protection laws. Since last year, these centers have to inform about video surveillance recording policies and obtain explicit consent of users. Some autonomous communities, such as Catalonia and Madrid, explicitly prohibit recording in changing rooms and in areas of exercise without the consent of recorded people, although this rule is not always respected. “I think we must be more empathic among us, both those who want to be recorded and those who do not want to go on social networks,” says Moreno.
From fines to prison sentences
Maza explains that everything depends on the type of recording: “Nothing happens if it is an accidental recording in which someone comes out from afar and little time, but if someone is recorded continuously, more closely, a violation of the right to honor could occur,” he says. The lawyer considers that playing sports “is something intimate” and that whoever practices is protected by the right to honor, intimacy and the image itself. In Chile, for example, a judge has just been prosecuted for recording more than 90 women in a gym for sexual purposes.
Recording someone without their consent can lead to serious legal consequences in Spain. From an economic fine to prison sentences between one and four years, which can be higher if the images taken without consent are spread. Meanwhile, many gyms are carrying out measures to protect the privacy of their users. This is the case of the Ccendextino Sports Club, in Madrid. “If we are going to record something for networks, we ask users permission. If someone does not want to leave, we do not take or cut off the plane,” says Sara Domingues, one of the owners. Although gyms try to maintain an atmosphere free of these recordings, applying these policies can be a real challenge.
In the United States the same phenomenon is repeated and several chains have chosen to restrict the use of mobiles in their facilities. This is the case of 24 Hour Fitness, New York Sports Club and Lifetime. “I think they will end up prohibiting mobile phones in gyms,” Maza predicted. “People are there to disconnect and that is contrary to the phenomenon from who wants to be influencer From gym, ”adds this lawyer. Moreno thinks, however, that recording can bring positive things:“ If people get used to recording more and see more, it would be very useful to learn and improve, ”says the coach. The other side of this conflict is in sports centers focused on a younger audience, which already have 100% spaces instagrameables.
All sources consulted agree to point out the usefulness of creating designated areas for recordings, where the privacy of other users is not compromised. “I suppose that, for mere business logic, gyms will end up dividing the younger public and the public more senior That wants more intimacy. The most important thing is that you are exposed when you decide, ”adds Maza.
