Does The Word Diet Misconsumed To An Extent Through Social Media Influence?
Today we are living in a digital world, where everything you see influences you in an unconscious way, which may sometimes portray a distorted reality. Filled with feeds echoing What I eat in a day? Celebrity diets, quick-fix crash diets, ASMRs)* are we getting into the made-up distorted reality of food and diet?
From being curious to getting to know the diet plans of celebrities, now social media have upgraded to the zone of spreading inauthentic information from influencers. The attention of the people is whirled between so-called diet cultures and on the other hand ASMR-Mukbang trends. Does it mean that the concept of Diet has been misconstrued to an extent?
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Beyond food cultures, the word diet radiates different effects on people’s thoughts. Referring to history the meaning of the term diet is derived from ancient Greek, which refers to the holistic approach of both mental and physical health. But history also highlights that the conception of dieting as primarily a way to lose weight or change one’s body first appeared in the 19th century.
And now more than taking care of one’s body, it delves deep towards hurting one’s body to achieve distorted goals. This concept was even influenced by the constant echoes of my diet plan, what I eat in a day, my healthy lifestyle, how celebrities achieve their physique, and a lot more around it. Moreover, the way of lifestyle is strung into hacks to achieve fitness and so on.
On the other hand, the dominant influence of the Mukbang trend in social media, flooding ASMR food videos which pulls the thoughts of the audience to the other extent. More than the tendency to maintain a healthy lifestyle, these two concepts became the two sides of the coin, flipping in a loop in the minds of the people.
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And this social media culture even incorporates these sensitive topics with brand promotions, which now the influencers are doing eventually. Constant celebrity reminders of self-love and a healthy diet. Sometimes when celebrities speak about self-love, diet, and eating habits it also comes under the label of promoting something. Basic activities of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and having healthy foods seem to be glorified and even stereotyped as well.
So, dear reader, do you think that we are glorifying the fundamentals of life which include food, under the blankets of social media influence, distorted diet cultures, and lifestyle?
(*ASMR or autonomous sensory meridian response is a pleasant tingling sensation starting on the scalp and moving down the neck. It feels good and is triggered by certain sounds or sights, creating a sense of calm.)
