The darkside of Mukbang industry

Mukbang, initially a Korean genre of broadcast, has become widely spread

among young viewers in recent days. There are teenagers, who are willing to
spend time watching it for hours. However, its adverse – effects, including
negative influences, health damages, and misleading information, are the factors
why Mukbang must be banned.

Firstly, it’s undeniable that Mukbangers can earn income through sponsorship
from famous food brands. However, this money is used to spread poor table
manners among teenagers and children when they imitate the act of eating an
excessive amount of food in a single sitting. Mukbangers often include eye-
catching and enormous food in their videos to bait viewers to click it, making
Mukbang videos popular through many social media platforms.

As an exchange for being famous, Mukbangers are facing serious health risks.
Overconsumption of such noodles, fries, wings, or burgers leads to exceeds in
salt levels, sugar levels,…; and consequently, these people have to face
unexpected adverse effects like obesity, atherosclerosis, or heart attack. Proof of
this concept is the death of a Chinese Mukbang streamer during the broadcast.
Based on police investigations, he may have overconsumed fat-contained foods
which later on caused a sudden heart attack on stream. Say, it is not a great deal
to exchange health for popularity and money.

Supporters of Mukbang claim that Mukbangers also give their viewers helpful
facts about the food they are eating. This point is somewhat true, however, in
most cases, this information shows no value to their viewers. The amount of
helpful information in a video is negligible compared to the total length of the
video. Additionally, looking for valuable information about cuisine is not the
reason why people watch Mukbang; instead, they would refer to watching from
food experts or famous travelers.
In conclusion, apart from its increasing popularity, Mukbang is showing its
detrimental effects on the young generation by badly damaging their health and
eating manner while having no helpful value to the viewers.