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

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: SEM; adolescent food; adolescent health; convenience food; cost-effective consumption; food consumer; food consumption pattern; mediation; sound eating.

Figure 1

Overall research outline. Note: Healthy refers to the FCB of considering a consumer’s health; Costeffective refers to the FCB of valuing cost-effective consumption; Soundhabit refers to the FCB of keeping sound eating habits; Convenience refers to the FCB of preferring convenience; “a” refers to a direct path from USM to Dietary Satisfaction, “b” and “c” are indirect paths from USM to Dietary Satisfaction.

Figure 2

Research procedure of the study.