Mukbang, a popular form of online entertainment that originated in Korea, has exploded in popularity across campus. From calm to messy mukbangs, each shares an ASMR foundation of satisfying sounds from a wide variety of foods consumed on screen. However, beneath this seemingly harmless content lies a troubling reality.
“Mukbangs are dangerous because of overconsumption and they are really bad for your health. [They have] many chemicals in the food that are toxic to the human body,” said Amira T.
Korean influencers began filming themselves eating food on camera back in 2010 in an attempt to bring comfort to their viewers who were eating in solitude. Many other content creators including Nikocado Avocado and Zach Choi began to catch on to the trend. What started with minimal amounts and healthy portions of food mushroomed (pun intended) into a 4,000-calorie intake of processed foods in a single sitting.
“Mukbangs are satisfying to watch. When they’re chewing, they make the sound crunch, crunch, crunch. It does gross me out when they eat too much though,” said Cynthia G.
The gluttony in certain mukbang videos has also caused concern about the side effects behind the screen. Studies show that excessive eating is linked to obesity, digestive issues, eating disorders, and in extreme measures, even death.
“There’s this mukbanger who died on stream. [I feel] scared. It’s kind of scary, the way they just died there. [You] shouldn’t eat that much food. It’s negative because people eat a lot and that’s bad for your health.” said Sofi E.
Middle school students are aware that maintaining focus is an issue. A recent study demonstrated that the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to roughly 8 seconds since 2009. To keep viewers entertained, fast-cut videos and constant interruption have become the main course, designed to keep the viewer “snacking” on content. Mukbang is a clear example of a fast-paced medium of entertainment without benefit to all involved.
“I feel like Mukbang was fine, but then it slowly got extreme. It’s really unhealthy and disgusting. [Too much leads to] obesity and being overweight. Some people eat a little bit, and it’s not that bad. Some people eat too much food – a bunch of fast food and if you’re eating that all day, that is really unhealthy. I mean, people will do anything for views,” stated Annie G.
While mukbang was initially a “bite-sized” idea for ASMR fans, the concept has gone too far. The massive amount of food and calories consumed should never be encouraged.
“I feel like the purpose of mukbangs is for people to enjoy watching them [eat] or watching them when they are fasting. [Content creators] can get a lot of money from it. It goes way too far when they have a lot of food,” said Ashlyn B.
