How Does Adolescents’ Usage of Social Media Affect Their Dietary Satisfaction?

Harry Jeong and Kwangsoo Shin
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Harry Jeong: Central Research Institute, Dr. Chung’s Food Co., Ltd., Cheongju 28446, Korea
Kwangsoo Shin: Graduate School of Public Health and Healthcare Management, Songeui Medical Campus, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06691, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: In order to improve the health status of adolescents, studies are needed to illuminate the essence of their general and dietary lifestyle. Thus, we conducted this study to verify meaningful relationships between adolescent usage of social media (USM), which plays an important role in their life, their food consumption behavior (FCB), and their dietary satisfaction. This study used two analysis methods: t -tests and structural equation modeling (SEM). This study verified whether there was a significant difference in adolescent FCB depending on their USM using t -tests. This study proposes that the following FCBs showed significant differences between users and non-users of social media in adolescents: a tendency to try new types of food (t = 2.134, p < 0.05), a tendency to avoid foods with harmful risks such as suspected spoilage (t = 3.513, p < 0.001), a tendency to eat bread or fruit for a simple breakfast (t = −3.893, p < 0.001), and a tendency to often use home meal replacements (HMR), eat out or have food delivered (t = −3.245, p < 0.01). Furthermore, this study used SEM to verify the causal relationship between adolescent USM and their dietary satisfaction. According to the results of SEM, adolescents’ USM mediated by the FCB of preferring convenience fully mediates the negative relationship between adolescent USM and their dietary satisfaction ( p < 0.01). It is necessary to reverse the situation in which adolescent dietary satisfaction decreases as their FCB of preferring convenience increases. Government regulations for food companies and autonomous efforts for quality improvements on their part are needed.

Keywords: food consumption pattern; food consumer; adolescent health; adolescent food; convenience food; cost-effective consumption; sound eating; SEM; mediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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