A lot of our choices are influenced by the popular culture aka pop culture that surrounds us - at least until we realise that we are being influenced, and then consciously decide which aspects to retain and which to let go. Pop culture, which can also be understood as the ‘culture of the people,’ encompasses various aspects of our social life such as our beliefs, lifestyles, communication styles, and food habits. It allows a wide range of people to identify with the same thing - clothing brands, fast food chains etc. This makes us believe that we are making choices that are individualistic in nature, however, the truth of the matter is that choices have been pre-governed to a large extent by pop culture. And mass media plays an important role in the formation of and the spread of pop culture.
Is it really a happy meal?
It is us, the people, who are responsible for the craze that is created during a sports match - or the reason why perhaps Domino’s, KFC, McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts have grown in India so drastically over the last few years. It is the influence of popular culture that caused long queues outside Starbucks in Mumbai when it was first launched. Social Media, television and advertising all create a heavy impact on our consumption of foods and beverages. The rise in the number of people baking sourdough bread from scratch or whipping up Dalgona coffee during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is a testament to the power of social media in recent times.
It has beenfound that people began eating differently after they started posting pictures of their food on social media - thus ushering in the era where meals were crafted more for visual appeal than culinary delight.
Thanks to social media, our brains are constantly bombarded by tantalising ASMR videos of food that would entice even those people with the strongest of disciplines. Our food-related decision-making is highly impacted by external stimuli such as social and visual cues. Researchers have also shown that food choices and body weight are influenced by our peer groups. Social media serves as a platform where social and visual cues coupled with what people around you are eating, end up influencing one’s food choices. And to no one’s surprise, photos of junk food evoke a stronger response than healthy food. The addictive properties of junk food as evident by its close implications with dopamine-producing reward pathways of our brain underscores the importance of these influences.
Researchers surveyed influencers in the UK and analysed the kind of food photos that they were posting online. 87.3% of the social media accounts and the food they posted were found to be unhealthy and these posts in particular, relative to posts with healthy foods, earned more likes thus driving more engagement. It is feared that this will lead to more junk food posts on our feed, which may end up skewing our perception of what should be considered healthy food.
From Bhindi to Kimchi
One does not have to look any further than the local vegetable seller to observe the influence that global food trends are yielding on our palette by way of pop culture. The avocado, with which most people were not familiar until a few years ago, is becoming a common sight.It currently boasts the status of being the most exported fruit in the world. Bestowed with a myriad of health benefits, its shot to fame can also be credited to ‘fitness influencers’ consuming it frequently. Another international influence has been due to the rising number of people watching Korean dramas and the increasing following of Korean pop bands. These have introduced Korean food into the country. While some of these foods may be healthy such as kimchi, others such as instant ramen or spicy noodles lie on the other end of the spectrum.
Advertisements, too, have been long notorious. Advertisers have an arsenal of techniques such as making bold claims like “Fortified with Calcium, Iron and Vit B12”, displaying products in catchy bold colours, having celebrities as spokespersons , enticing media with jingles etc. In a meta-analysis of over 20 studies, researchers from the University of Liverpool found that children, and not adults, were likely to fall prey to the lures of advertisements and end up eating more. Children, in particular, are susceptible to these marketing ploys, highlighting the need for regulatory scrutiny.
The Big Screen and the Small Screen
Beyond advertising, researchers have also found links between food consumption and cinema watching. For a long time, movies were only associated with entertainment. However, research found that product placement in movies has a heavy effect on the consumption of that very product in society. For eg. Cereals marketed to children were low in nutritional value and high in sugar content. The same research also found that the Rudd Centre for Food Policy and Obesity found that food companies were spending around 150 million dollars a year to sell cereal to children.
Various studies have shown the link between tobacco and cigarette use on screen, and its real-life impact. It is being feared that the same may now happen (or rather, is happening) with sugar. In another study by the University of Liverpool, researchers found that exposure to social media posts impacted children’s food intake especially when it came to influencers marketing unhealthy foods whereas the marketing of healthy foods showed no effect. Yet another research that was conducted to understand the connection between food consumption patterns and cinema noted that watching violence on screen led to a higher intake of fatty foods. This in turn leads to obesity and other health-related issues.
It can be said that this susceptibility to external influences extends beyond mere celebrity endorsements to advertising and social media content. Therefore, marketers and influencers strategically capitalize on cognitive biases inherent in our decision-making processes. For instance, there are praises galore about the implicit influence of priming on human decision-making. In an interesting research conducted at Yale University, it was found that exposure to advertisements led to an increase in the amount of food that adults consumed afterwards - be it healthy or otherwise. They also consume foods which may not be present in the advertisements thus indicating that food advertisements lead to increased eating behaviours for food in general.
It has also been reported that since people are keen to eat what their favourite celebrity is posting on social media, people are pulled in when their favourite star turns to vegetarianism, veganism or plant-based food. The same research shows that this act is done to achieve that feeling of relating with their favourite celebrity or pop star. In an attempt to fool viewers, people posting on social media might benefit from a recent research finding which states that pretty foods, i.e. food that appears aesthetically pleasing influence how healthy we judge these foods to be. Foods that are visually more appealing are more likely to be thought of as healthy and contain fewer calories than their counterparts.
The road ahead?
While it may seem as if pop culture only creates a negative influence on our plates, this is not so. Here is a silver lining in this cloud as well. Social media has made it easier to become part of a food community helping us stay inspired and motivated. It also helps us find easily new things to cook so that following a healthy diet does not become monotonous. While previous research has shown that eating disorders and social media do have an alarming connection, it has also been found that some people may get over their eating disorders by finding their inspiration on Instagram.
Pop culture’s influence on food is neither a recent phenomenon, nor is it one that seems to be fading away. While food continues to find its mentions in everything around us including movie songs that mention a range of food items from Batata Vada (Fried potato snack) to Bhel Puri(snack made with rice flakes), Cadbury, Dosa (rice pancakes), Coca-Cola, and Lemon; it is us who needs to filter out healthy from unhealthy, product placement from genuine recommendation, and sponsored Instagram posts from authentic attempts at eating cleaner - perhaps then, we too can have a healthy feed.
Bhavleen Singh and Rashmi Mehta
