Authored by Ashish Awasthi – Former Research Fellow, Marketing, Dr. Arvind Shukla - Professor, Marketing, Dr. S M FatahUddin - Assistant Professor, Marketing, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida.
Everyday millions of Instagram users watch reels (short videos) related to reduction of food waste, mindful cooking, sustainability etc. Many of such reels inspire people to reduce food waste and follow food related sustainability but a vital question that remains is – do such videos really change people’s behaviour?
A research paper titled ‘Decoding the Stimulus–Organism–Response Model in Male-Led Food Waste Communication on Instagram’ examined food-waste-related Reels posted by male creators and analysed hundreds of comments from users. While the content was widely appreciated, only a few users expressed an intention to adopt the sustainability practices for food-waste reduction demonstrated in the Reels. This surprising gap between content engagement and behavioural intent highlights one of the biggest challenges in sustainability campaigns on social media.
Help Reduce Food Waste and Promote Sustainable Living
Food waste is one of the most pressing problems of contemporary world. According to estimates by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), around one billion tonnes of food is wasted every year, contributing to substantial amounts of greenhouse gases such as methane and wasting scarce resources such as fresh water. Even more unfortunate is the fact that millions of people sleep hungry every day. Much of the food waste occurs in households; therefore, individual behaviour needs correction in this regard.
At the same time, social media has become very influential for disseminating sustainability awareness. Instagram reels are being watched by millions of people, which through their engaging content and appealing visuals have become popular in sharing information including recipes from leftover food, composting of leftover non-edible food, effective storage and creative ideas related to food waste reduction.
Although many such reels exist on Instagram, surprisingly, very little research has been done on how people react to such videos. Most of the food waste related research has focused on measuring food waste quantity and has done surveys regarding how food waste can be reduced. This paper took a different approach by examining the naturally occurring conversation on Instagram. This enabled the researchers to understand how sustainability communication is perceived in real environment rather than controlled environment.
Key findings from the research
The research study examined 55 Instagram reels including 945 comments posted by the users publicly. Results of the study revealed interesting insights. A surface examination revealed that people generally appreciated the content of the reels and encouraged others to reduce leftover food, suggesting that the food waste related content is received well on Instagram. However, a close look at the data revealed something unexpected. Although many people appreciated the content of the reels, only a third of them expressed the intention to change their behaviour, for example by mentioning that they would start composting, freezing or donating leftover food. This gap was termed as ‘appreciation-intention’ gap in the research paper. Thus, users liked the content but stopped short of committing to action.
Another important finding was that inspirational and emotional content was appreciated more than fact based or humour based content. Stories about real people, positive change and meaningful experiences were widely appreciated. The reels posted on Instagram came from either individuals or organizations like United Nations Organization (UNO). The findings revealed that the reels form individuals as well as organizations were responded to in a similar way by the users. Therefore, it did not mattered as to who posted the reels. The type of content actually made the difference in users reactions.
The creators of the reels used relatable themes like composting, mindful eating, meal planning, sharing of leftover food, reusing leftover through recipes and simple tips for managing the kitchen. These themes made food waste reduction look achievable rather than overwhelming.
Conclusion
The following can be concluded from the research study – social media has a lot of potential to raise sustainability related issues, but awareness alone is not enough. On social media, there is a strong appreciation of sustainability led content but this doesn’t automatically translate into behavioral intentions, thus an ‘appreciation-intention’ gap persists. Clicking the ‘like’ button is much easier than changing habits.
Findings of the research study have important implications for content creators – both individual as well as organizations. To increase sustainability participation, content creators should move beyond posting inspirational content only and showcase simple and practical tips for reducing food waste which can be practiced at home by the users. Viewers should be encouraged to share their own content or ideas to reduce food and recycle leftover food. Reducing food waste is not just about caring for environment; it also contributes to global security while conserving precious and scarce natural resources.
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