You Are What You Instagram: Social Media Can Influence Healthy Habits

As social media channels gradually emerge as the epicenter of connecting with the world around us, our online channels begin to define our lifestyle choices. Whether we like it or not, we are now predisposed to share just about everything that encompasses our daily life on these channels, food being a common outlet. You’ve always heard that you are what you eat, but are you what you Instagram?

Sharing our meals via social channels has become a growing trend, and it could have a long-term positive affect on healthy habits. You rarely see an oversized, greasy burger and soggy fries show up on your Instagram feed, but you do see your friend’s newest health food addiction or a shop’s organic-based produce. As new nutrition trends emerge, people are excited to share fresh, vibrant, and tasty healthy foods that may pique their friends and family’s interests. As these trends gain momentum, they’re facilitating countless double-tapped “likes,” and may have even further positive influences.

Brian Hanley of the Huffington Post states that “(Instagram) offers cyber stages on which to perform new roles and shed old skin,” giving us the perfect opportunity to turn around a less-than-healthy diet and share in a new-found love of healthy foods. The Hartman Group, a consumer-centric market research firm, further explains that consumers are now looking to online presences and communities for “opinions to expand their culinary horizons and make food purchase decisions”. While in reality we may not always be food pyramid abiding citizens, the rich content now available online can help open our eyes to new health trends we would otherwise be unaware of and affect our day-to-day eating choices.

As you begin to define your presence on social channels, consider the image you’re promoting to the world. We are no longer simply what we eat, but we are defined by how we broadcast it. This creates an exciting opportunity to change the way you think of food. Try a new recipe, grow a vegetable you’ve never tried in your Tower Garden, or look into a new health trend in your area. In the end, your meal choice is up to you, so take the opportunity to share a nutrition packed entrée. Social media is just another avenue by which you can spread healthy living around the world!

How do you portray your food interests on social media channels? Have you learned about your most recent health obsession online? Tell us in the comments section below.