Is social media sites influencing our diets?

By Eloise Preston

“Food messages are received even when there is no advertising intent” (Adkins, P and Bowler, I). Whether you are scrolling through Instagram, watching your favourite television show, driving on throughout the main street of your town or doing your weekly grocery shopping, the advertisement of food is surrounding us no matter where we go. And this isn’t entirely our fault, as we discussed in this week’s lecture “our choice is not entirely our own”, many people tend to over look at the fact that food is displayed and advertised in a certain way to convince us into incorporating it its our diets.

As our lecturer stated this week, “food is a representation of our identity” (Kuttainen, 2015). There is no denying that the food that goes into our shopping trolleys and the restaurants we choose at, is a direct representation of our culture, social class and economic status. Its no secret that families or individuals that have a poor economic status tend to eat cheap convenience meals. On the other end of the scale wealthy families are eating fresh and healthy foods. These statistics show that there is a strong relationship between poverty and obesity.

Advertising plays such a large role in our diets, especially in the 21^st Century, the way company’s market their food has evolved dramatically. I can guarantee you that every time you log into Twitter, Facebook or Instagram there is a post related to food. These social media platforms are a fast, reliable and cost effective way for companies to spread the word about their product or restaurant. And we as the viewers are liking, retweeting and uploading photos that are advertising for their company without even realising it. Large grocery chain stores also play a large role in what foods goes into our grocery carts, I experience this first hand as a worker in a supermarket. Every week, I notice how particular food groups are strategically placed in certain areas of the store where customers are more likely to notice and purchase the products. I also notice how the number of unhealthy and processed foods are advertised as half price or buy one get one free in comparison to the deals when purchasing fruits, vegetables and lean meats.   

In the great depression, if you were in a state of poverty, you were underweight. In the 21st century, people that are poor are overweight and obese. When you look at this from a historical point of view, we can see how diets have evolved to the point where the poverty classes of society are unhealthy and the wealthy are healthy. I think we can all agree that social media advertising has contributed to this vast change. 

References: 

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, Lecture 8: Food networks. [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from: http://www.jculearn.edu.au

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I. (2001). Food in society: Economy, culture, geography. New York, United Sates of America: Oxford University Press Inc.

Image Credit :

Wilkinson, S. (2009). Aussies share the food love by posting photos of meals on social media. Retrieved from: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/aussies-share-the-food-love-by-posting-pictures-of-meals-on-social-media/story-fneuz8wn-1226637885462