What are influencers feed-ing us?: A photo-voice approach on emerging adults’ social media food environment

Healthy eating is a complex and often confusing topic, especially for young people. Conflicting advice, trends, and body ideals contribute to a stigmatising food environment in which social media influencers (SMIs) strongly shape perceptions of what counts as a ‘healthy’ diet. However, little is known about the specific food content that emerging adults encounter in their own social media feeds and how this influences their understanding of healthy eating. Guided by Source Credibility Theory and Expectancy-Value Theory, this study used a photo-voice approach combining content analysis and focus group discussions. Emerging adults collected 559 food-related images from their social media feeds, which were later used as discussion prompts. This multi-method design enabled an in-depth examination of the health-promoting food content shared by influencers, its alignment with dietary guidelines, and the features shaping perceived credibility. Results showed that 30% of analysed posts contradicted dietary guidelines, mainly by featuring too large portions of red meat. Most inaccurate content (78.3%) appeared in recipe posts and was almost exclusively shared by uncredentialed influencers (90.7%). Focus group discussions revealed that participants often overlooked subtle misinformation due to shortcomings in credibility evaluation. Many relied on perceived expertise, such as scientific language or a “healthy” appearance, rather than formal credentials, while others viewed recipe posts as harmless, underestimating their impact on perceptions of healthy eating. Overall, findings suggest that although influencer content can promote healthier food choices, improving digital literacy is crucial to help emerging adults recognise and critically assess misleading nutritional information.