Foodporn - when many eyes eat too
Please wait with the food, I'll take another photo," is the message before almost every meal. After what feels like the tenth photo fits, it is edited and hashtagged. Food, or rather nutrition, has gained in importance. It's no longer just about making sure that I and my family like it and that the menus are varied and balanced. What ends up on the plate should also look pretty, be healthy - whatever that means - and, whenever possible, have something special in terms of text and images. After all, the more your own experiences and emotions are visualised or put into text, the better the chances are that many people will like it and your online circle of friends, i.e. the number of followers, will increase.
Nutritional counselling among laypeople
Social media has become an integral part of modern life. Even children and, of course, teenagers are already using the networks to discuss a wide range of topics. A daughter quickly finds an answer to her questions about «intuitive eating», while her son watches videos about the everyday life of a vegan.
The discussion about healthy eating and nutritional trends mostly takes place among laypeople who talk about their personal experiences. In the eyes of the younger audience, personal, honest opinions count more than expert opinions or science-based statements. It can happen that statements about healthy eating become rather rigid and some ingredients such as sugar, meat and milk are eliminated altogether. There is a danger that people will develop their own truths and no longer organise their diet intuitively, but will instead be guided by influencer recommendations. Just because influencer X considers a dairy-free and sugar-free diet to be the right way to eat does not mean that it is right for you.
Topics relating to obesity and weight loss are usually addressed through personal experiences. The path to your dream weight is often described in great detail, with all the nice and not so nice details. With successes, setbacks and hurdles in everyday life.
Blogging as therapy
The positive encouragement from followers can be enormously valuable, especially in difficult phases, and provide strong support for those affected. They report that online friendships are very important, sometimes almost more important than real, physical friends. It is easier to reveal oneself via social media. As a result, people often share more and in more detail, and the feedback is correspondingly greater.
There are even reports that a therapeutic relationship can develop between bloggers and followers - without any personal contact. People with eating disorders also use social media to support each other on their way to healthier eating behaviour. Unfortunately, however, there are also groups that aim to maintain the eating disorder and do everything in their power to ensure that it persists.
Social media gives professionals an ideal platform to reach many people, regardless of the time of day or location. Experts have the opportunity to present and recommend blogs and channels that they consider to be good and at the same time convey a sense of security in the wide world of social media. The recommended blogs by those affected or laypeople can optimally support credibility and make the whole thing more approachable and therefore more interesting for the «audience». This mix is on the right track in some areas, but there is still room for improvement. The experts are lagging somewhat behind the laypeople in terms of online presence.
Personal nutritional behaviour is influenced by numerous factors. First and foremost, there are family conditions, which are enormously important and formative. Later, it is the environment, including social media. It may well be that your son or daughter wants to try out different dietary trends, some extreme, some less extreme, and you don't have to approve of or support all of them. Nevertheless, it is important to realise that this experimentation is completely normal and part of self-discovery. Ask your child who or what is exciting at the moment and try to keep up to date with social media activities as best you can.
By the way: There are many videos that show how beautiful food photography is created. If you are interested, watch these with your children and become amateur food stylists and photographers together with your family. I promise you, the risk of addiction is inevitable. And who knows, maybe you'll soon be sharing it with the whole world. Or keep it for yourself and your family.
Most popular hashtags in the food sector
#instagood
#foodphotography
#instafood
#foodporn
#love
#foodie
#foodstagram
#yummy
#food
#foodblogger
Nutrition on the net
According to research results, the nutrition topics that are most publicised via social media can be divided into the following groups:
- Kommunikation zu gesunder Ernährung: Ernährungstrends wie Veganismus, Paleo-Diät oder Low Carb werden vorgelebt
- Themen rund um Übergewicht und Abnehmen: Diäten, Ernährungsformen, Erfahrungsberichte, Erfolge und Misserfolge
- Essstörungen: Erfahrungsberichte, Therapiekonzepte, Alltagserlebnisse, Erfolge und Misserfolge
- Nachhaltige Ernährung: Klimaneutrale Ernährung, weniger Fleisch, weniger tierische Produkte, weniger Konsum im Allgemeinen
- Foodie-Bewegung: Schöne, ästhetische Fotos aus der ganzen Welt rund ums Essen, hier steht der Genuss im Vordergrund
