Social media has already taken over the worlds of politics and entertainment, and it’s now scrambling into the culinary realm too.
It’s not just that family member taking photos of restaurant food or sharing the odd recipe anymore. Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest are awash with mouth-watering tutorials that make daunting recipes look like a piece of cake.
The bitesize videos are pushing the food world into the modern age, just when it needed it most. Research over the past decade has warned that young people’s interest in food was dropping, with the Co-op finding a quarter of young Brits couldn’t make Spaghetti Bolognese. Almost half of those surveyed did not want to learn how to cook.
Clearly, there is a confidence problem in the kitchen. To have a chance of reaching young people, the food world needs to follow them to where they are. That’s where social media comes in.
There are new burgeoning communities of foodies, such as ‘FoodTok’ and ‘Foodstagram’. They have smashed down the barriers, allowing anyone to launch careers by showing their passion for food. The social media home-cooks don’t have hefty production budgets like their TV counterparts, forcing them to keep it simple.
The artlessness of the snappy videos, often accompanied by a recipe in the description, gives viewers a ‘you can do this too’ feeling. If you’re not convinced, even the traditionally damning Gordon Ramsay praised a video of a student making a Beef Wellington from their dorm room.
There are some older foodies who criticise the new social media food frenzy, decrying a loss of traditionalism. But there is nothing about social media that stops someone from explaining a brief history and their love of a recipe, as is normally done in recipe books. Instead, social media is killing the elitism of the food industry and allowing anyone to publish their passed-down family recipes. Long-established methods from around the world can easily be immortalised and shared in a visual form before they fade into history.
There are obvious risks with the boom of food content on social media. Many of the upcoming creators are not dieticians or food experts and may unwillingly promote unhealthy eating. But if we are going to turn the tide for the ‘can’t cook, won’t cook’ generation, filling a void in their food knowledge is better than nothing.
Many young food creators are filling that space already, accompanied by other positive messages the world needs to hear. Food influencers offer a chance for young people to find relatable food content. It is now much easier to build communities for vegans, coeliacs and other foodie groups to share their favourite recipes and methods.
Social media is not the magic bullet to get young people back into the kitchen. Though just like a recipe, the way we use it will be refined with time. If it can be harnessed to have the same power as in the political and entertainment worlds, it may prove revolutionary for our future with food.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels.com
Former News Editor 2023/24 at Brig Newspaper. Former Chief Sub-Editor 2022/23.
MSc International Journalism student at the University of Stirling.
