Mukbangs are a popular trend where people record themselves eating. While harmless for some, it can trigger body image issues for others.
Learn what you can do to protect your child’s wellbeing.
The term comes from the Korean word ‘meokbang’. It combines the Korean words for eating (‘meongneun’) and broadcast (‘bangsong’). So, it translates roughly to ‘eating broadcast’. This is an apt name, as mukbang videos and livestreams focus on the creator eating food.
There are many types of these videos. Many involve the host attempting to eat massive amounts of food while others are more like cooking shows where the creator preps and cooks the food. This variant is called a ‘cookbang’.
Some mukbang videos fall under the category of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). ASMR is a feeling people get when they experience certain sounds or visuals.
Whatever the style of mukbang, the host talks to the camera while eating copious amounts of food. In some, they might try strange food trends or eat against the clock.
Because there are so many varieties of these videos, interested viewers can find something they enjoy. Additionally, some big social media influencers and brands endorse these videos, making the content more compelling. However, people may watch mukbang videos for a number of reasons.
Watching these videos can alleviate loneliness for those eating alone. The mukbanger talks to the camera during the video, which creates the feeling of sharing a meal with a friend. Viewers can also interact with other audience members in the comment section, creating a sense of community.
Some creators also tell stories, record with fellow streamers and make jokes in their videos to entertain viewers. This gives the audience a reason to continue watching even after the food has been consumed.
The sounds of eating can also provide ASMR for some viewers.
Mukbangers will often amplify the sounds of their eating, purposely exaggerating the crunching and slurping of food, to appeal to this audience searching for ASMR.
For those who enjoy ASMR, this feeling is often deeply relaxing. Some people even use ASMR videos to help them fall asleep.
Mukbang videos can also educate audiences. Viewers may watch them to learn about different foods and cuisines that they might never encounter otherwise. Additionally, cookbangs can help viewers learn new cooking skills and techniques.
While many people enjoy watching for harmless reasons, there are risks associated with mukbang to consider.
These videos focus on eating, which means they can influence viewers’ eating behaviours if watched regularly. Watching someone binge eat can encourage eating disorders or lead some viewers to develop one.
In these cases, young people might attempt to imitate the influencer, consuming huge amounts of food. This could put them at risk of weight gain, obesity or even death*.
Nikocado Avocado, a popular mukbang creator, has discussed the health problems he developed from doing mukbang. These issues include a weakened immune system, joint pain and trouble breathing.
Furthermore, mukbangs can negatively impact those suffering from anorexia or bulimia. Some people with these conditions will watch eating videos as a way to alleviate hunger, living vicariously through the mukbanger. They may also imitate the mukbanger, bingeing on a large amount of food and then purging afterwards.
A number of mukbangers edit their videos to make it seem like they eat more food than they actually do.
One way they might do this is by chewing their food and then spitting it out. However, they won’t show that they’ve spit it out, so it looks like they swallowed it.
Others mukbangers might eat the food over multiple sittings. They can then edit the footage to make it appear as if they ate everything as a single meal.
This may lead people to wrongly believe they can eat large amounts like mukbangers without gaining weight or feeling sick.
Mukbangs usually focus on eating food, but they can lead to children watching ‘sulbang’. This is a type of video similar to mukbang, but instead of food, the creator consumes alcohol.
Sulbang videos on YouTube usually do not require age checks. This means children can easily watch them. As a result, the videos could influence children to drink alcohol to imitate the sulbangers.
Some creators also make mukbang videos to appeal to viewers’ fetishes. Creators film these videos with a more sexualised tone that would be inappropriate for children.
These videos are often indistinguishable from regular mukbangs based on the YouTube thumbnail and title alone. Some will not even have age restrictions limiting who can view the videos. Because of this, a young person could easily view this content accidentally.
Additionally, some people view mukbangs for the challenge aspect. Mukbangers will often attempt to eat huge amounts of food, to the point of extreme discomfort, which some might find entertaining.
On YouTube, mukbang videos that feature overeating attract more viewers. This encourages creators to produce content that supports unhealthy eating habits.
Stay on top of online safety issues and concerns with your digital toolkit. Create yours to get the right advice for your child's needs.
CREATE YOUR TOOLKITTalking with your child about why they want to watch mukbangs can help you stay on top of potential harm.
For example, if your child says they want to see how much someone can eat, or they say they watch it when they’re hungry, this could indicate a negative impact. However, if your child says they watch it to learn about new foods or preparation techniques, viewing mukbang might not be too harmful.
Learn more about supporting your child with their body image in the digital world.
It is important that your child is aware that binge eating huge amounts of food is unhealthy.
Ask them to consider and identify some potential risks of mukbangs. How could it affect their health? How could it affect someone watching these videos?
This will help open up a quality discussion around body image or harmful content. If they don’t yet understand the danger, you might want them to wait before watching mukbang content.
If you worry about how much mukbang content your child watches, try reviewing their watch history. On YouTube, you can see what videos your child has watched by going into their account settings.
If you do this and find a lot of mukbang, or videos that feature concerning content, you should talk to your child. If a creator your child watches is putting out content that you consider harmful, you can block their channel so that your child is unable to view their videos in future.
Find out how to set parental controls on YouTube with our step-by-step guide.
If your child decides they want to begin creating their own content, it is important that you supervise them. Ensure they are not imitating the dangerous behaviour of some mukbangers or engaging in dangerous eating challenges. Learn more about monitoring content creation with our parents’ guide to live streaming and vlogging.
