You have full access to this open access article. Internet technology has facilitated the use of a wide variety of different activities and applications in online contexts. The present study carried out a scoping review of the academic and non-academic literature i.
A total of 11 academic outputs from different disciplinary fields mainly peer-reviewed papers and 20 articles from national UK newspapers were identified following an extensive literature search. Furthermore, mukbang watching appears to have both beneficial consequences e. Implications of the study and directions for future research are also discussed.
The internet can be a mediating tool for individuals to engage in specific behaviours online Griffiths Consequently, internet use motives of individuals have become increasingly varied and specific over time to a degree that even the most particular applications e. Recent newspaper coverage has indicated that there has been a growing phenomenon of individuals using internet applications for engaging in a unique online activity, watching mukbang McCarthy Even though mukbang first started in South Korea a decade ago, it has now reached increasing popularity in a number of other countries and where hundreds of thousands access the internet every day in order to watch mukbang videos Hawthorne However, despite this rising popularity of mukbang, very little attention has been given to this phenomenon among scholars.
Consequently, empirical studies are warranted to identify psychological characteristics of mukbang viewers and possible consequences of mukbang watching. Previous studies have applied several theoretical frameworks to investigate the use of different online applications. The compensatory internet use model CIUM Kardefelt-Winther is one such model that attempted to explain psychological characteristics of engaging in online activity. According to the CIUM, it is posited that individuals use the internet in order to compensate unattained offline needs via specific online activities Kardefelt-Winther Empirical literature has documented a wide range of compensatory strategies that facilitate the use of different online activities.
For instance, self-presentation, belongingness, social gratifications, recreation, and information are motives that have been associated with social media use Chen ; Seidman Online gaming motivations include social reasons, escapism, competition, coping reasons, skill development, fantasy, and recreation Ballabio et al. Furthermore, online pornography consumers use the internet to compensate their needs for sexual arousal, physical pleasure, a sense of excitement, and avoiding uncomfortable emotions Brown et al.
