People use current technology to learn new things every day since it makes all knowledge instantly available and easily accessible. On their smart device, practically all clever users have TikTok loaded as one of the contemporary mobile apps. I chose this platform since it is one of the most widely used smartphone applications for short-form video communication. Since I’ve been using TikTok for about a year and a half, I’ve gained acquaintances from all over the globe, which has elevated my social engagement. Additionally, since I received recipes from TikTok, I have been consuming more excellent and upscale meals than before. There is a lot of discussion over whether TikTok has made it easier for people to have health problems brought on by unhealthful diets and bad eating habits, or if it has just made such problems more prevalent. In response, I can claim with certainty that despite users having the flexibility to publish whatever number of brief videos they want, whether they are about a healthy or poor diet, TikTok has not been a factor in the rise of new health problems like obesity and orthorexia nervosa. This study will concentrate on how TikTok has affected people’s eating habits, both favorably and badly.
TikTok is one of the technological platforms that has affected how people behave. With the help of the well-known software TikTok, anybody can make brevity films. Since it overtook other major mobile applications like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as the most downloaded app on Google Play Store and Apple Store, it has become a source of fame for millions of people worldwide. It was introduced in September 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance. With the onset of the worldwide pandemic in 2020, when people started working and spending a lot of time inside, it began to gain popularity. In 2022, it had quickly expanded to become one of the social media platforms with the largest user base, with daily use reaching more than 600 million.
Eating behavior, often referred to as eating habit, is a group of conscious, repeated behaviors that cause someone to choose, consume, and take a certain diet or food in response to social and cultural influences (Rivera Medina 1408). Some individuals today have developed good eating habits, but others have bad ones. Both of these actions are the result of the interaction between TikTok and other social media platforms, cultural norms, and religion. The primary factor driving this social behavior is the dramatic rise in health problems linked to poor diets, which exposes individuals to very high health risks. Short movies promoting a healthy diet and the value of following one have been shared on TikTok in order to address these hazards and encourage individuals to develop healthy eating habits.
TikTok has a variety of uses, therefore millions of people have made movies demonstrating how to prepare delectable dishes. Millions of people have used the app as a result to learn how to cook. Since people’s eating habits have shifted from good to unhealthy, this has served as a key that unlocks the door to disorders like obesity among other health difficulties. For instance, people want to prepare wonderful meals like the food they see on TikTok, therefore food additives are in demand. As a result, they are more likely to develop conditions including cancer, obesity, and orthorexia nervosa (Iamreneeonque 9). Health practitioners have been utilizing this platform to educate individuals on healthy eating behavior to prevent health illnesses caused by bad eating habits, which has been a worldwide burden. However, TikTok has also encouraged healthy eating behaviors. Researching how TikTok has impacted people’s eating habits is crucial.
The explanations listed below demonstrate how TikTok has improved peoples’ eating behaviors. First off, TikTok is a fantastic venue for sharing the food and cuisine of many cultures. People may learn how to prepare different foods thanks to this. Before this platform became well-known, a number of individuals believed that particular foods were toxic and bad for one’s health. However, other individuals have been eating the same diet and benefiting from it in terms of health. others have utilized TikTok in this instance to share ethnic dinners, enabling others to learn how to prepare cuisine from many cultures (Bavikatty 30). For instance, prior to the prominence of this platform, Asian and American consumers of cuisine from the African diaspora were nonexistent. People have benefited from this cuisine in terms of their health; for instance, African foods like cassava, beans, millet, and sorghum are high in fiber and have a significant role in lowering the risk of heart disease. Second, the low salt level of traditional African diet lowers the chance of developing illnesses like high blood pressure (Carpenter Rebecca 20). TikTok is one of the mobile applications that has impacted individuals to develop good eating habits since it has taught people from many cultures about this dish.
Second, many people’s eating patterns were formed throughout their formative years. Since other social media sites have helped individuals adopt unethical practices, it cannot be said that TikTok has caused people to establish bad eating habits. The interaction between a person and their environment and the people in it is how they acquire behavior, according to behaviorists (Wang et al. 460). According to the social learning hypothesis, people acquire social behaviors through seeing and copying the actions of others. As a result, if the parents consume processed foods, the kid will get used to them and will always choose them over other forms of food. As a result, they develop bad eating habits.
According to this theory, there is no definitive connection between TikTok and users’ eating habits. In addition, cultural norms have a bigger impact on eating habits than social media platforms. People may reflect their cultural or ethnic identity via their eating behaviors (Wang et al. 460). Food is a common tool used by people to preserve their feeling of cultural identity. Culturally distinct communities have different eating preferences. Religion and cultural beliefs have a significant role in determining an individual’s diet. culinary consumption patterns result from these culinary preferences within a cultural or geographic group. As a result, rather than reflecting TikTok or any other social media site, what the majority of people consume is a reflection of their culture.
Thirdly, TikTok has been used by users to share healthy recipes and educate others about the value of a balanced diet in addition to providing pleasure. Millions have rushed to TikTok to make quick movies on healthy eating since the health problems caused by bad diets have become a worldwide issue. People have been educated on the dangers of an unhealthy diet via these movies, which has encouraged them to switch from harmful to good eating habits (Wang et al. 461). For instance, obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, cardiovascular illnesses, and stroke are some of the major health hazards brought on by improper diets. People are more inclined to alter their behavior than to get one of these health diagnoses since they see these illnesses as death sentences. In other words, because of this platform, individuals may believe themselves to be more susceptible, which will allow them to alter their behavior to reduce potential health hazards.
TikTok has been crucial in helping individuals improve their culinary abilities. It was difficult for some folks to create a delectable and elegant dish before TikTok. This website has developed into a priceless key that opens the gates to free online catering courses. In this instance, cooking instruction may be obtained in the convenience of one’s own home (Vogel 20). Since they have been using recipes they have found on TikTok when cooking, this has affected the dietary habits of TikTok users. For instance, a person could not have any culinary experience, but after using the TikTok smartphone app, the individual will quickly become a chef.
TikTok also provided advice on how to behave before and after meals. According to experts on healthy eating, one should drink a glass of warm water 30 minutes before a meal. This aids the body’s digestion-preparation processes. Additionally, according to a professional on TikTok, drinking water while eating reduces the likelihood that the nutrients will be absorbed. To help in the digestion of food in the stomach, one should instead drink a glass of warm water an hour after eating (Carpenter Rebecca 25). As a consequence, the body can absorb nutrients more effectively. This TikTok information is crucial since it encourages eating habits, which support excellent health.
In conclusion, the increasingly popular smartphone app TikTok allows users to create quick films. It has become a source of popularity for millions of people worldwide after surpassing popular smartphone applications like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to rank among the most downloaded ones on Google Play Store and Apple Store. The majority of social media sites have a reputation for influencing users in equal proportion to adopt both good and bad behavior. The effect of this platform is stronger on healthy behavior, particularly eating.
There is no connection between TikTok and unhealthy eating habits since people form their eating patterns as children. TikTok, on the other hand, encourages healthy eating habits. One way this platform has helped individuals develop healthy eating habits is by allowing them to follow a variety of different cultural diets. For instance, Hispanics were not used to eating traditional African cuisine, but ever since the platform’s introduction, they have flocked to TikTok accounts featuring an African diet. Second, this website allows users to share their nutritious recipes, which promotes healthy eating habits and aids in maintaining excellent health. Additionally, TikTok is utilized to inform users about the health hazards associated with improper diets, inspiring them to stop engaging in bad eating habits.
References
Bavikatty, Andrea. TikTok, Body Image, and Eating Behavior: An Analysis of College-Age Women. Diss. 2022. (10–41)
Carpenter, Rebecca. “How Does TikTok Encourage a Healthy Lifestyle?” Hollywood Branded Blog, https://blog.hollywoodbranded.com/how-does-tiktok-encourage-a-healthy-lifestyle
Iamreneeonque. “Nutrition Content Is Huge on TikTok, but a New Study Shows Trends like
#WhatIEatInADay May Influence Disordered Eating Behaviors.” CNBC, CNBC, November 9, 2022, www.cnbc.com/2022/11/09/tiktok-nutrition-related-content-may-contribute-to-disordered-eating.html#:~:text=Many%20of%20the%20videos%20also,health%2C%22%20the%20study%20says.
Rivera Medina, Christian, et al. “Eating habits associated with nutrition-related knowledge among university students enrolled in academic programs related to nutrition and culinary arts in Puerto Rico.” Nutrients 12.5 2020: 1408.
Vogel, Kaitlin. “TikTok Perpetuates’ Toxic’ Diet Culture in Young People, Study Shows.” Healthline, Healthline Media, November 7, 2022, www.healthline.com/health-news/how-tiktok-perpetuates-harmful-diet-culture-among-teens-young-adults.
Wang, C. H., Sher, S. T. H., Salman, I., Janek, K., & Chung, C. F. (2022, June). “TikTok Made Me Do It”: Teenagers’ Perception and Use of Food Content on TikTok, in Interaction Design and Children (pp. 458-463).
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