Investigating the effects of mukbang watching on appetite, mood and social connectedness

• Main Author: Koh, Angie Shu Xiang
• Other Authors: Bobby K. Cheon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150471
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Solo dining is a rising trend due to demographic shifts towards single-person households. As a result, solo diners turn to mukbang (i.e. online eating broadcast where the host consumes large amounts of food and interacts with viewers) to fulfil their desire for connection. Unlike the standard mukbang, the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) mukbang focuses on amplified eating sounds and involves less speaking. Studies have posited that mukbangs may facilitate digital commensality and yield similar benefits as eating with others physically. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of mukbang watching on appetite, mood and social connectedness, and to compare the effects of standard mukbang and ASMR mukbang. Participants watched a mukbang or control video and completed an online survey comprising appetite, mood and social connectedness measures. Results revealed that only ASMR mukbang had a significant effect on overall appetite, desire to eat and prospective food consumption of food items shown in the video. Both variants of mukbangs had a significant effect on overall affect, positive affect and negative affect, and these variables mediated the relationship between mukbang watching and appetite. These findings suggest that social facilitation effects on appetite and mood may be present in mukbang watching and entail practical implications for using mukbangs to influence eating behaviour and mood positively especially for solo diners. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.