If you've been using social media lately, you may have noticed various posts about food. These range from artistic photos of restaurant meals to daily updates of theKeto or Paleo dietYour friends to their guilty confessions about eating fast food late at night.
Whatever the people in your online circles say about food, there's a good chance you know a lot about their eating habits and preferences. This information provides clues about your acquaintances' social norms regarding food. The authors of a new study claim that they could influence your own eating habits.
“This study suggests that we are more influenced by our peers when choosing certain foods than we realize. “We seem to unconsciously take into account how others behave when we set our own eating habits,” said study author Lily Hawkins, a doctoral student at Aston University in Birmingham.
The researchers also examined how different types of social norms affect the consumption of certain foods. These social norms also exist in other situations, such as in the real world among students or employees. However, the researchers focused on social media because these sites now account for a large portion of our social interactions.
In the study, researchers surveyed 369 students about their consumption of fruits, vegetables, high-energy snacks and sugary drinks. They also researched their use of Facebook and other social networks, as well as their perception of the eating habits and preferences of their online friends. It turns out that social norms can influence people's eating habits even in the online world. This can happen in two ways.
Promote healthy eating
The authors of thenew studybelieve their work could also be used to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables, as well as fewer energy-dense snacks and sugary drinks.
“The consequence is that we can use social media as a tool. In this way, we can encourage the eating habits of others in friendship groups. We then potentially use this knowledge as a tool for public health interventions,” Hawkins said. Skipping meals or binge eating are two other factors of particular concern.
