The food industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in India.
Food resonates with the dynamic nature of India’s youth. With an increase in the number of cuisines and fusion foods, eating food has become a hobby and tasting unique inventions, an acquired taste.
What Are Mukbangs?
One of the latest trends in the booming food industry is taking up Mukbang challenges. The tradition of eating Mukbangs originates from South Korea.
The term refers to a live-stream video where the host consumes copious amounts of food while conversing with the audience.
In South Korea, eating is a social activity. It is uncommon for people to eat in public without company. Hence, Mukbangers try to replicate this culture in their videos by conversing actively with the audience.
These live-streams have a tendency to become viral and as a result, the performers attract sponsorships from established food giants.
Mukbangers are especially prominent in South Korea and the US. Moreover, on average, recognized Mukbangers attract up to $9000 as monthly income.
The Appeal Behind Watching Mukbang Videos
One of the reasons why viewers clock up to an hour, every day in watching Mukbang videos on YouTube is solely due to the component of ASMR.
Autonomous sensory meridian response or ASMR refers to the satisfaction derived from watching or listening to sounds made from performing everyday activities.
In this case, viewers derive pleasure from the sounds of crunching, biting, slurping and chewing. Sounds and visuals made by Mukbang videos are said to curb stress and anxiety.
Moreover, watching people gobble down humongous quantities of food helps in relieving midnight hunger pangs and spontaneous food cravings. It is especially helpful for people on a diet.
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Popular Mukbangers On YouTube
One of the most popular Mukbangers on YouTube is Hyunee. With more than one million subscribers, this Mukbanger earns about $18,000 per month.
One of the reasons behind her rise to fame is her ability to take on massive spice challenges.
For example, her most watched videos on YouTube is the ones in which Hyunee is seen destroying the nuclear fire noodles challenge. The nuclear fire noodles are said to be the spiciest amongst the ramen family.
Similarly, another Mukbanger, Mikey Chen is infamous for his food reviews and food binges which are performed all over the world.
His fame is attributed to the different variety of cuisines he tastes and reviews while traveling around the world.
Along with that, his collaborations with Mukbangers like The Try Guys has reached a staggering number of views, attesting to the wide audience he caters to.
The Reality Behind The Mukbanger Lifestyle
As lucrative and popular as the Mukbanger lifestyle is, it is not a viable career option in the long run. Essentially, Mukbangs are unnatural and unhealthy if performed regularly.
There are a lot of downsides to consuming up to 10,000 calories in one sitting. According to internet sensation Paytas, she had to diet and starve herself for weeks to be able to perform food binges for her subscribers.
Not just that, but performing Mukbangs regularly could lead to a bloated stomach, irritableness, vomiting post-challenge, and many other complications.
Furthermore, these feasts tend to lay waste to the body if continued as a full-time profession. Mukbangers are exposed to the risk of heart diseases, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer.
Although for some, Mukbangs help in curbing stress and anxiety, it can also do the opposite for some suffering from eating disorders. Mukbangers cater to a large and diverse audience in a day and age where the youth is easily influenced by material online.
As a result, young boys and girls look up to public figures and pick up cues. For example, Mukbangs are said to promote eating disorders.
The activity of binge eating normalizes consumption of massive quantities of food which in turn, adversely influences people with bulimia and binge eating disorders.
In its totality, binge eating is a double-edged sword. While it is momentarily satisfactory, it is also unhealthy if pursued in the long run.
As a fan of watching Mukbangs online, I think it is imperative to reveal behind-the-scenes footage of the shooting to spread awareness amongst the youth.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image Credits: Deeksha
Sources: Scroll.in, Today.com, Harvard.edu
Find the blogger @JhanviShah
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