How TikTok shaped the way we view food

The video-sharing app has been disrupting the food industry to the point of changing the way people eat

LUTHO PASIYA

FOOD is a powerful thing. It has brought people together for centuries, between families, communities, and cultures. It has the power to connect people of different backgrounds. The sharing of food and recipes is nothing new, but recently there has been a shift in how we share recipes, as well as who shares them.

The digital age has brought on the popularity of cooking videos. TikTok, in particular, with its unparalleled ability to create content that goes viral. The video-sharing app has been disrupting the food industry to the point of changing the way people eat. What are the causes of this success? It is short and simple videos made by ordinary people. Below we take a look at how TikTok has shaped how we view food.

We are more adventurous

Unlike our broadened horizons, the breadth of our culinary vocabulary list, our more adventurous appetite is all about depth. TikTok has given rise to a more impulsive and curious psychological state, that craves innovation and uniqueness. We want fresh, fused mash-up versions of familiar foods that show creativity.

TikTok allows us to compare our food

What and how much we choose to eat is influenced by those around us, physically and virtually.

When we eat in large groups, we tend to eat more, which in itself is not a bad thing, as the benefits of human connection go beyond what any single food can offer. Seeing video after video of delicious food on our phones can provide us with great inspiration – after all, food is one of the most popular categories on the app – but this can easily descend into comparison.

Some comparison is normal and human, but the amount of information we’re receiving on the app is often more than our brain is equipped to handle. There is always someone online whose food is prettier, more popular, more enticing. Thin and toned fitness bloggers post “What I Eat in a Day” videos, enabling us to compare every bit and make modifications, so we can eat like them to look like them.

TikTok brings us together in our struggles and promotes health like nothing else

Another major benefit of the growth of the video-sharing app is the way it is connecting people and making them realise that they are not alone in their hardest battles.

People are coming out in large numbers to help each other with problems like eating disorders. It is one of our go-to resources for all kinds of information on healthy superfoods, foods that burn calories, and foods that add more calories.

The digital age has brought on the popularity of cooking videos. | Pexels