Int J Consum Stud

How TikTok influences the way young people think about food

January 29, 2026

A survey of 406 active TikTok users found that the platform significantly influences young people’s attitudes and behaviors around food through algorithmic curation, emotional engagement, and social pressures. The strongest external driver was entertainment content, followed by users’ sense of connection with creators and the perceived usefulness of food-related posts. Structural equation modeling showed that TikTok explained 68.8% of variance in attitudes toward culinary trends and 54.5% of variance in food behaviors. These results suggest that social media plays a substantial role in shaping dietary preferences among young consumers.

Clinical takeaway: Consider incorporating brief questions about patients’ food-related social media exposure during nutrition counseling to identify trends that may be shaping their eating behaviors.

Source:

Mizielska O, Strzelecki A. (2026, January 28). Int J Consum Stud. From “For You” to Fork: TikTok's Influence on Young Consumers' Food Behaviors. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijcs.70184