Exploring the Linkages of Digital Food Communication and Analog Food Behavior: A Scoping Review

The linkages of digital food communication on social media platforms and analog food behavior of social media users are widely discussed in media and research, but less differentiated. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the research field, the scientific studies are characterized by great heterogeneity in approaching the role of communication and modelling of food behavior, and thus also the conclusions on how digital food communication might be linked to analog food behavior. There is still much uncertainty regarding the relationship and underlying assumptions between digital communication and analog action. The rationale of this scoping review is to systematically summarize the findings of this heterogeneous body of knowledge. The importance and originality of this review are that it focuses explicitly on studies that provide insights into the nexus of digital food communication and analog food behavior, be it in the theoretical foundation, the results, or their interpretation. It draws on a socio-ecological model of food behavior that depicts food behavior variables in different domains and uses a differentiated categorization of food behavior (food choice, dietary intake, and eating behavior) to synthesize the results. Using the Web of Science and PubMed databases, 267 abstracts were identified and screened, of which 20 articles met the inclusion criteria and were selected for full-text analysis. The review offers some important insights on how different variables of the socio-ecological model of food behavior are related to digital food communication and different areas of analog food behavior. This review provides a more discerning understanding of which aspects of analog food behavior may be linked to social media food communication and in which ways. Implications are derived to reflect the role of communication in previous models of food behavior by adding a more nuanced and cross-cutting understanding of food communication.