Healthy Food on Instagram Social Network: Vegan, Homemade and Clean Eating

Abstract

Social media platforms have become part of many people’s lives. Users are spending more and more time on these platforms, creating an active and passive digital footprint through their interaction. This footprint has high research potential in many research areas because understanding people’s communication on social media is essential in understanding their values, attitudes, experiences and behaviors. Researchers found that the use of social networking sites impacts adolescents’ eating behavior. If we define adolescents as individuals between ages 10 and 24 (WHO’s definition), 76% of USA young people at age 18–⁠24 use Instagram, so the Instagram social network analysis is important for understanding young people’s expressions in the context of healthy food. This study aims to identify the main topic associated with healthy food on the Instagram social network via hashtag and community analysis based on 2,045,653 messages created by 427,936 individual users. The results show that users most associate Healthy food with healthy lifestyle, fitness, weight loss and diet. In terms of food, these are foods that are Vegan, Homemade, Clean and Plant-based. Given that young people change their behavior in relation to people’s behavior on social networks, it is possible to use this data to predict their future association with healthy food characteristics.

The Association of Internet Use Intensity and Lifestyle Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Chinese Adults

“…A similar study found that the longer the duration of internet use among Egyptian children and adolescents during COVID−19, the more likely they were to reduce their intake of vegetables, fruits, or protein ( 82 ). The Instagram Social Network can influence adolescents' eating behaviors ( 83 ) and shape eating trends ( 84 ). The duration of Instagram is significantly associated with dietary behavior ( 85 ).…”

The use of TikTok among children and adolescents with Eating Disorders: experience in a third-level public Italian center during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

“…In our study, the most researched categories are represented by “Diet” and “Cuisine”. A recent study by Pilar and colleagues [ 40 ] examined the diet topic on Instagram. The authors analyzed 2,045,653 messages created by 427,936 individual users, showing that users mostly associate healthy food with healthy lifestyle, diet, weight loss, and fitness.…”

Sentiment Analysis of Public Social Media as a Tool for Health-Related Topics

“…These tests were conducted with the objective of measuring the state of individuals' mental health and suicide risk [21]. Additionally, more recent efforts have suggested the analysis of images from social media due to increased usage and influenceability of younger generations to these data types [106], [143], [144], as well as increased modern availability of computing power. Finally, research efforts such as the Durkenheim Project have implemented these analyses for assessing predictive suicide risk in individuals [19].…”