Digital technologies such as AI-based food-tracking apps and social media platforms play a large role in how college students perceive food today. Food-tracking tools like MyFitnessPal, Lifesum, and Cronometer, along with platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, strongly influence how students evaluate, present, and think about their eating habits and relationships with food. Existing research shows that these technologies are linked to higher levels of body image concerns and more restrictive eating patterns (Simpson & Mazzeo, 2017; Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2018). However, far less research focuses on how these tools may be changing what college students believe food means on a deeper emotional and cultural level.

The purpose of this project is to better understand how college students perceive food within a growing digital environment where tracking apps and online food and fitness trends are increasingly common. Specifically, this study explores whether these technologies contribute to a disconnect between food as a source of culture, comfort, and connection and food as something primarily measured and controlled. Using a mixed-method survey design, this research collects both qualitative and quantitative data from college students aged 18 to 25. The survey asks about app usage, exposure to food-related content on social media, and personal reflections on what food means culturally and emotionally.

This project is guided by the expectation that frequent engagement with digital food technologies may shape students’ views of food as more data-driven and less personally meaningful.