Behaviors towards sustainable nutrition in the grip of social media addiction and hedonic hunger: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of social media addiction has prompted concerns regarding its potential impact on hedonic eating tendencies and sustainability-related practices. This study aimed to investigate the bidirectional relationship between social media addiction, hedonic hunger, and behaviors towards sustainable nutrition among adults in Türkiye. This cross-sectional study conducted 700 (73.3% of female, mean age 29.99±10.31 years) adults between 8 October-20 November 2024 in Türkiye. An online questionnaire including demographic characteristics, Power of Food Scale (PFS), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and Behaviors Scale towards Sustainable Nutrition (BSSN) was performed. The findings revealed a significant sex difference in BSMAS scores, with women exhibiting higher scores than men. Furthermore, a weak correlation was found between social media addiction and elevated hedonic hunger. Notably, despite the absence of a correlation between social media addiction and behaviors towards sustainable nutrition, this study observed a weak positive correlation between hedonic hunger and behaviors towards sustainable nutrition. The key predictors of behaviors towards sustainable nutrition were female sex, sustainability awareness, university education, increased hedonic hunger score, and older age, collectively accounting for 18.3% of the variance. This study highlights the complex interrelationships among social media addiction, hedonic hunger, and behaviors towards sustainable nutrition. The extensive use of social media can contribute to hedonic hunger and impulsive food choice. However, the cyclical relationship between social media addiction and hedonic hunger may have the potential to promote normative ideas about behaviors towards sustainable nutrition.