Online Food Vlogging and Consumer Behavior: An Analysis of Changing Food Culture in Chattogram City

Abstract

The fast-growing digital media has resulted in new revolutionizing changes in food culture and food selection procedures. Online food vlogging has become a potent channel of communication in Bangladesh especially among the urban youth in recent years. In this paper, the researcher seeks to determine how far the visual appeal, narrative, reviews, and ratings included in food vlogs can influence food consumer habits, preferences, and food preferences, as well as restaurant preferences. The study is conducted in Chattogram City and follows a mixed-methodology with both the analysis of content of ten popular food vlogs and a survey of a hundred consumers that will be utilized. As the results show, food vlogging is helping to cause observable changes in tastes and modern eating habits. Most participants have stated that they have become more interested in commercially prepared food due to food vlogs, whereas around 45 percent of them ordered food online on a random basis. The increasing popularity of the restaurant culture can also be seen with the outcome of the survey showing that there is a trend to visit restaurants basing their choice on the quality of food, ambience, companionship, and price in a combined way. Moreover, almost fifty percent of the respondents said they were also encouraged to make new dishes after watching food vlogs. The findings also indicate that food vlogging can easily create a false demand of food and that, as proposed by the social influence theory consumers are more likely to heavily depend on the opinions of the vloggers. In general, the discussion shows that food vlogging is transforming the food culture, consumer psychology, and restaurant-focused behavior of urban dwellers in Chattogram. The digital representation of food has ceased being a mere entertainment aspect, but it is now a major socio-cultural factor.

DOI - https://doi.org/10.65525/SVUP.9788199963313.2026.63-84