My habit of watching YouTubers eat on camera started as a joke.
I thought it was funny, too.
Toshs chewing sounds filled my apartment, her lips spread into a smile, and I smiled with her.
Getty Images/ Jonathan Knowles
I was hooked on my first mukbang.
I know theres nothing inherently weird about gleefully riding the latest internet wave to reach digital American shores.
Still, I couldnt shake a faint sense of guilt.
I was watching randos eat giant crab legs while trying my hand at a vegan lifestyle.
Honestly, I was just curious about what life as a vegan would be like.
So, was there really anything wrong with my love of watching people eat things I wouldnt eat myself?
These worries combined to make me feel like my love of mukbangs could be in poor taste.
Visceral viewing becomes a moment of eating from afar, she explains.
I normally despise eating sounds.
These tingles are known asautonomous sensory meridian responses(or ASMR).
But there are significant differences between mukbangs and typical ASMR eating videos.
Preferences for different stimuli are a common occurrence, so it isn’t surprising, Richard says.
People generally have different preferences for foods, songs, TV shows, and fashion.
My purpose is to help people and remind them that happiness is possible.
Ultimately, my decision was more curiosity than anything else.
The first few days after I went vegan, I couldnt stop thinking about food.
I read more food labels and planned more meals than I ever had.
Eating was suddenly much more of an intentional practice for me than it had been in the past.
I didnt want to.
This, however, is part of my angst.
Im hypervigilant about the way thatclean eating can be a proxy for disordered eating behaviors.
Thats kind of how you’re free to begin to tell if your habit is a problem.
(And maybe Im prone to overreacting.)
How a person engages with and interprets food imagery and cultural cues is multifaceted.
That made what I was doing a lot more real for me.
For what its worth, seeing these disclaimers underneath videos has eased my own angst about watching mukbangs.
All in all, Im feeling pretty OK with my mukbang habit.
Im relieved to know that I can continue queuing up mukbang videos without guilt.
I get to watch people eat wild things and remain vegan.
Its also nice to have something food-related to chat about with friends that isnt plant protein and oat milk.
Do I use mukbangs to stave off loneliness?
The good news: I dont feel worried about my mukbang habit anymore.
I have new existential concerns.
