The role of media content in changing nutrition habits in Egypt : A comparative study between television programs and Instagram blogs.

Abstract

Traditional media has been for many years influencing its audience, changing their habits and introducing them to new trends in health and nutrition. Similarly, with the emergence of social media platforms, especially blogs on Instagram, they created a new way of communicating and influencing their followers. Therefore, this paper is important as it aims to explore the role of each; a nutrition television program versus a healthy Instagram food blog and the main reasons for audience seeking each. This area of investigation is essential as it falls under the third goal of the seventeen sustainable development goals set by the United Nations, which is maintaining health and well-being. The study applies the uses and gratifications theory to understand more the reasons behind each media consumer seeking a specific medium to gratify a particular need. To know whether health and nutrition television programs or healthy Instagram food blogs help Egyptians acquire healthier nutrition habits. The results showed a significant correlation between Egyptians being exposed to both health and nutrition television programs and healthy Instagram food blogs to seek information and recipes to gratify their needs to acquire healthier nutrition habits. However, most healthy food blog users are females between 16 and 26 years old. A deeper investigation in this area is recommended, to know why females are interested in males and which type of content is appealing and of interest to them.