Abstract
The study seeks to examine the role of media attention in individuals’ intention to perform basketball sports and further investigate its’ underlying psychological mechanism among youth participants. An online survey was administered in China by recruiting 413 youth participants. The results demonstrated that traditional media attention and social media attention were positively associated with attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, injunctive norms, and descriptive norms. Next, attitude, subjective norms, and descriptive norms positively affect individuals’ behavioral intention to perform basketball sports. Building on the theory of planned behavior, our research examines the role of the media as a precursor to attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, with an in-depth examination of how normative pressures shape individuals’ intentions to act. It also examines the practical implications.