Mukbang viewership and body image among youngsters: a third-person effect perspective

Mukbang, a form of digital food entertainment, has become increasingly prominent in contemporary media environments. While prior research has focused on viewing motivations, less attention has been paid to how mukbang exposure relates to body-image evaluations and perceived media influence. Guided by the Third-Person Effect (TPE) framework, this study examined the relationships among mukbang viewing, perceptual gap (self-other discrepancy in perceived media influence), and body-image evaluations among Chinese young adults. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 396 participants aged 18-30 who reported prior experience with mukbang content. The results indicated a self-other perceptual discrepancy in the perceived magnitude of mukbang's influence, with participants perceiving this influence to be greater for others than for themselves. Mukbang viewing was positively associated with body-image evaluations, and this relationship was partially mediated by perceptual gap. In contrast, social distance did not significantly moderate the association between perceptual gap and body-image evaluations. These findings suggest that perceptual discrepancy may function as a cognitive mechanism linking digital media exposure to self-evaluative outcomes, extending the TPE framework to entertainment-oriented food content. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the use of non-probability sampling, cross-sectional data, and self-reported measures. Overall, this study highlights the role of indirect cognitive processes in shaping body-image evaluations within algorithm-driven media environments.