"I want what they're eating": College students' experiences in watching food content on YouTube

Abstract

Background and purpose: The prevalence of obesity among adolescents is increasing significantly. One of the predictors of this problem is unhealthy eating pattern due to peer and social media influence. This study aims to explore in depth the experience of college students in watching food content on YouTube.Methods: This study used a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with ten informants and one focus group discussion with seven female students aged 18-22 years. The informants were female students who have been watching food content on YouTube for more than one year. Data collection was carried out over April-May 2019. Data were analyzed thematically and presented using a narrative approach.Results: There were three themes that emerged in this study, namely the reasons for watching food content, the benefits, and the effects of watching food content on adolescent health habits. Food content on YouTube is imagined to be educational and provides new knowledge related to food and culture in various regions of Indonesia and other countries. Watching YouTube has become a routine teen activity where they can spend one to four hours per day and can cause teens to form sedentary lifestyle. YouTube watching habits are influenced by peers and social media. It can increase adolescent appetite, thus, they more often opt for unhealthy foods.Conclusion: Watching food content on YouTube has a positive and negative impact on adolescent health. One negative impact is that the content or influencers can cause the selection of unhealthy foods. Attractive education method should be applied in order to counteract unhealthy food content and promote healthy eating habits.

Association Between Social Media Usage and Eating Behaviors of Young Adults in Pakistan

“…The results of the current study show that more than 45.5% of participants use YouTube and Facebook regularly, and they also like food pages and occasionally buy food online. Comparing the findings, a study explored college girls" experiences related to watching food content on YouTube (15). The results suggested that the girls found themselves prone to select unhealthy foods after watching food content or food influencers on YouTube.…”

“…Teenagers can get influenced by such content and may unknowingly reshape their food preferences. It is evidenced that the people who follow food content on YouTube are more likely to spend money for buying food than those who do not follow such content (15) Young adults particularly face challenging times owing to their educational and academic commitments. Failure to adjust to new challenges can lead to anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbance (16).…”

Perilaku Menonton Mukbang dan Preferensi Makanan Mahasiswa di Jakarta

“…Selain itu mukbang juga meningkatkan konsumsi makanan di luar dan pembelian makanan via delivery selama pandemi. (26) Selain mukbang, beberapa video yang memberikan sajian terkait dengan makanan juga bermunculan dan menjadi tren di kalangan remaja dan dewasa muda serta dapat memberikan efek terhadap perubahan kebiasaan makan seperti cookbang, food review, travel, and culinary tour dan ASMR video. (27)…”