When someone eats lots of food all at one time while they record themself, this is referred to as a mukbang. This has trended recently but has also led to unhealthy consequences.

   Influencers have kicked off this trend, some of the prominent ones include Jelly Bean Sweets, and That Foodie Lyss. 

   “I think she’s teaching a lot of unhealthy habits to people on the internet,” Josie Cash ‘26 said.

   Though some people have a love for these videos, there’s a lot of backlash towards this trend. 

   For example, one famous influencer known as Jelly Bean Sweets, has faced much criticism for her videos. Jelly Bean Sweets, also known as Isa, started off her social media journey by just dance videos to stay healthy and fit. This changed when the mukbang trend started to blow up, and she joined in. 

   Numerous people have left comments under her videos nervous about her health, and how she’s eaten much more than recommended to eat a day. On the other hand, some may disagree that mukbangs are all bad. 

   “I actually think mukbangs are interesting, you get money from eating,” Iris Melendez ‘26 said.

   With this internet fad, lots of money actually comes along with it as well. Mukbang influencers such as That Foodie Lyss and Jellybean Sweets make around $150 per video they post. While they enjoy food, they actually benefit from it as well. 

   That Foodie Lyss is actually loved by many for her mukbangs, due to her management of a healthy lifestyle along with her videos. 

   This influencer also started to receive backlash, just as Jelly Bean Sweets did, but managed to quickly shut it down. That Foodie Lyss was quick to post a response video, where she showed that she consumes healthier foods, such as cucumbers, rice, chicken, and more. She also showed how she works out very often and likes to keep a happy balance of her foods. 

   Some believe that these influencers do not even eat the food.

   “They don’t even swallow the food, they always just chew it,” Jacob Smith ‘26 said.

   Many comments have pointed out that lots of these influencers only chew the food, and never fully digest it. Lots speculate that they chew the food, then spit it out. While some mukbang influencers have proven otherwise, some have not proven either way. 

   The mukbang trend has shown that the internet can take sides quickly on an issue such as heavy consumption of food. Students may hate or love these videos, but either way it has taken a quick rise to popularity.