Beyond catching a glimpse: young adults' perceptions of social media cooking content

Abstract

PurposeThe study aims to explore how young adults perceive cooking contents on social media and their interaction with it.Design/methodology/approachQualitative study using semi structured interviews with Brazilian young adults who cook (19–24 years old, n = 31) was the method employed. Interview audio recordings were transcribed and submitted to inductive and reflexive thematic analysis.FindingsData analysis generated six different themes. Young adults valued the profiles’ aesthetics and quality in terms of straightforwardness, trustworthiness, novelty and authenticity of information; they also identified with the profiles’ authors. When pressed for time, aesthetics was less valued than straightforwardness. Participants felt overwhelmed by the excessive information on social media and developed coping strategies to deal with this issue.Originality/valueThe lack of cooking and food skills is a recognized barrier for healthy eating in the young adult population. Social media can play a prominent role in delivering cooking-related information to the younger generation, but research on people’s perceptions of the cooking content available online is scarce and does not focus on how actual engagement with the available content happens. This qualitative exploration revealed which features young adults prefer when using social media to access cooking content, which can inform future interventions to promote cooking and improve health.