Why We Love to Watch People Eat為何我們愛看吃播

達娜·吉文斯 唐昉

Bethany Gaskin1， aka Blove， sits in front of the screen with a wide smile on her face， casually chatting with her audience as she indulges in a fresh Cajun seafood boil2. You can hear the cracking sound of the hard shell crab legs breaking as Blove extracts the delectable， juicy crab meat. Her loyal fanbase of over one million viewers loves watching her eat， but they also enjoy her funny running commentary.

Within recent years， food obsessives have turned to a new video genre taking over YouTube. Its launched personalities with hundreds of thousands， even millions of followers. This is mukbang.

The word mukbang is a mash-up of the Korean words “muk-ja” （lets eat） and “bang-song” （broadcast）. If youre unfamiliar with the video genre， its （often） live footage of a host eating copious amounts of food in front of a camera while interacting with their audience. The trend originated in South Korea， where the videos became popular via live stream channels like Afreeca TV and Twitch.

It was virtually unheard of in the United States until 2015， when Fine Brothers Entertainment3 uploaded their video of popular YouTube stars reacting to the Korean eating shows. As a result， the term skyrocketed4 on Google searches with people wanting to learn more about mukbang.

American YouTube content creators took notice and started doing their own spin5 on the trend. Mukbang went viral and a new crop of content creators started their own channels. Bethany Gaskin， who runs Bloveslife and Bloves ASMR Eating Her Way， has garnered over 2 million subscribers for her YouTube channels with her lively chats. She often hosts celebrity guests over a sprawling6 seafood boil—a popular choice of food in the American mukbang community.

While the trend originates from South Korea， the American iterations have some significant differences. Unlike Korean mukbangers， Americans do not typically livestream. Koreans plan their streams around dinnertime hours so viewers can feel like they are sharing a meal with a friend. And yet Americans tend to be more conversational in their videos， even though their performances are pre-recorded. This conversational aspect gives the audience a deeper connection with the host beyond the food.

American YouTubers vary more widely in ethnic background， gender， and cultural background than Korean， of course， from Nicholas Perry7， also known as Nikocado Avocado （two million subscribers） to Kim Thais Eat with Kim8， （over 400，000 subscribers）.

Another difference is that Korean mukbangers tend to eat traditional Korean dishes. In contrast， American mukbangers eat a wider variety of foods， from rare tropical fruit to ramen to smoked alligator， often based on theme challenges.

But why are millions of people so drawn to watching perfect strangers eat in the first place？ Its a combination of sensory， psychological， social， emotional， environmental—even neurological factors， says Rachel Herz， a neuroscientist and adjunct professor9 at Brown University Alpert Medical School as well as the author of Why You Eat What You Eat. Her specialty is analyzing how food triggers our senses and develops our behavior when it comes to what we like to eat.

A big part of that neurological factor is the ASMR （autonomous sensory-motor response）10 mukbang videos can elicit. ASMR is commonly described as a brain-tingling feeling， and people find it very relaxing. The familiar sounds of eating （slurping， chewing） and the imagery of mukbang videos supposedly trigger ASMR for many viewers.

“The sound has a huge impact [and] is an extremely [important] aspect of it because you are not getting the sensory piece part of the experience yourself，” says Herz.

This genre has proven to be very lucrative for content creators， often earning them sponsorships from popular food chains and restaurants in exchange for the exposure. According to NPR， Korean mukbang hosts reportedly can earn up to $10，000 per month and that standard is quickly traveling to America， with brands like DoorDash and Popeyes Chicken sponsoring the most popular YouTubers. Kim Thai， for example， has been earning upwards of $100，000 a year.

The trend has not come without its criticism， however， with many saying that mukbang triggers those with eating disorders， and that vulnerable viewers could potentially develop unhealthy eating habits from watching. YouTuber Nicholas Perry has received criticism from viewers over abusive behavior and raised concerns over his mental health. He later revealed in a podcast interview that he left mukbang to focus on a vegan lifestyle and minimize the health concerns that came from his extreme eating.

For YouTubers， chasing mukbang stardom means taking on a high-calorie diet， which can cause health problems. Registered dietician and wellness YouTuber Abbey Sharp has been very critical about the mukbang wave. In a viral video she condemns the negative side effects.

She points out that Korean-style mukbang is focused much more on the companionship of sharing a meal. In her video she says， “what I do have a problem with is that Americans have appropriated11 this concept of mukbang to no longer be about companionship， but rather to these over-the-top， sensationalized eating challenges，” which in a clinical setting would constitute disordered eating.

Sharp doesnt like the “restrict， binge， repent， repeat” cycle of American mukbang. And shes concerned that because many mukbangers look thin （and even， in some cases， produce wellness content in other videos）， this reinforces double standards for eating behaviors for thin people versus fat people. “We cannot judge a book by its cover when it comes to their health and wellness.”

Herz has a more nuanced12 take. “It can work in both ways. Someone with a binge eating disorder may [feel triggered] to start gorging on something. But at the same time， the vicarious13 experience of watching could resolve that urge for them to binge，” she explained to Thrillist. “It would depend on the person and how these triggers affect them.”

Food culture in the United States is complicated， to say the least. It seems like half of us are devoted to a healthy lifestyle with exercise and a nutrient-dense diet， while the other half of us are caught up in patterns of overconsumption， particularly of highly-processed， low-nutrient foods. Americans love food and we consume a lot of it. As our habits change and we spend more and more of our social engagement on social media， its only a matter of time before it affects our behavior around food. Despite the criticism， American mukbang continues to thrive on the Internet and it doesnt look like its slowing down anytime soon.

貝薩妮·加斯金，又名Blove，坐在屏幕前，臉上掛著燦爛的笑容，一邊享受新鮮的美式煮海鮮，一邊與觀眾閑聊。Blove拔出美味多汁的蟹肉時，您可以聽到硬殼蟹腿斷裂的聲音。她的忠實粉絲群超過100萬人，這些粉絲喜歡看她吃東西，也喜歡傾聽她滔滔不絕的風趣解說。

近年來，吃貨們轉向觀看一種在優兔網站流行的新視頻類型，即吃播。優兔已推出不少擁有數十萬甚至數百萬粉絲的吃播網紅。

mukbang（吃播）是由韓語muk-ja（吃東西）和bang-song（直播）構成的合成詞。也許你對這種視頻類型并不熟悉，其實它（通常）是一段直播影片，主播一邊在鏡頭前狂吃食物，一邊與觀眾互動。這一潮流起源于韓國，當時吃播通過Afreeca TV和Twitch等直播頻道風行開來。

過去吃播在美國幾乎不為人知，直到2015年，好兄弟娛樂上傳了其制作的優兔知名網紅觀看韓國吃播節目的反應視頻。結果，吃播一詞在谷歌搜索中飆升，人們想要了解更多相關信息。

美國優兔內容創作者注意到這一趨勢，并開始打造自己的吃播特色。吃播迅速走紅，一批新的內容創作者開啟了自己的頻道。貝薩妮·加斯金經營“Blove生活”和“Blove吃播表演”頻道，其優兔視頻因生動的閑侃吸引了超過200萬訂閱者。她在節目中經常用海鮮大雜燴這一風靡美國吃播界的食物招待名人嘉賓。

雖然吃播源于韓國，但美國的迭代有一些顯著差異。與韓國吃播主播不同，美國主播通常不直播。韓國主播在晚餐時間安排直播，這樣觀眾能感到自己好像在和朋友共進晚餐。然而，即便是預先錄制表演，美國主播在視頻中也往往更加健談。這種聊天模式能拉近觀眾與主播之間的關系，而不只是分享美食。

當然，在種族背景、性別和文化背景方面，美國優兔主播之間的差異比韓國更大。美國既有尼古拉斯·佩里（又名Nikocado Avocado，其訂閱用戶達200萬），也有金泰主持的“和金一起吃飯”（其訂閱用戶超過40萬）。

另一個不同之處在于韓國主播往往吃傳統韓國菜。相反，美國主播吃的食物種類更多，包括稀有熱帶水果、拉面、煙熏鱷魚等，通常根據視頻主題挑戰而定。

但是，為什么數百萬人一開始就如此熱衷于觀看素昧平生的人吃飯呢？蕾切爾·赫茨認為，這是感官、心理、社會、情感、環境乃至神經因素的綜合作用。赫茨是一位神經科學家、布朗大學阿爾珀特醫學院客座教授，并著有《為什么你吃這些食物》一書。她擅長分析我們喜歡吃的食物如何觸發自我感官，并塑造個人行為。

神經因素主要來自吃播視頻所能引發的自發性知覺經絡反應（簡稱ASMR）。這種反應通常被描述為一種刺激大腦的感覺，能讓人極度放松。據說，熟悉的進食聲音（比如啜飲、咀嚼）和吃播視頻圖像會觸發許多觀眾的自發性知覺經絡反應。

赫茨說：“聲音具有巨大影響，[并且]是一個極其[重要]的方面，因為您并沒有親自品嘗美食，獲得感官體驗。”

事實證明，吃播視頻對內容創作者來說利潤可觀;他們通常會從想要換取出鏡率的大眾食品連鎖店和餐館那里獲得贊助。據美國國家公共電臺報道，韓國吃播主播每月可賺取高達1萬美元的收入，并且這一標準正迅速傳到美國，比如快送到家和大力水手炸雞等品牌會贊助最受歡迎的優兔主播。例如，金泰的年收入超過10萬美元。

然而，吃播盛行并非沒有受到批評，許多人說吃播會引發飲食失調，易受影響的觀眾可能會因觀看節目而養成不健康的飲食習慣。優兔主播尼古拉斯·佩里因惡言謾罵受到觀眾指責，并引發人們對他心理健康的擔憂。他后來在播客采訪中透露，他離開吃播，一心追求素食生活方式，并盡量減少暴飲暴食帶來的健康問題。

對于優兔主播來說，追逐吃播明星地位意味著高熱量飲食，這會導致健康問題。注冊營養師和優兔健康話題主播阿比·夏普一直強烈反對吃播熱潮。在一段熱門視頻中，她譴責了吃播的負面影響。

她指出，韓國吃播對共進晚餐的陪伴的重視程度要大很多。她在視頻中說道，“我的確對此存有異議，美國人盜用了吃播概念，使其不再關乎陪伴，而是成為表演過頭、追求轟動效應的飲食挑戰”，這在臨床環境中被視為飲食紊亂。

夏普不喜歡美國吃播呈現的“節制、暴食、懺悔、重復”循環。她擔心，因為許多吃播主播看起來很瘦（甚至在某些情況下，他們還會在其他視頻中推出健康內容），這會強化瘦人與胖人飲食行為的雙重標準。“判斷某人是否健康，我們不能光看表面。”

赫茨的看法更細致入微。“吃播有兩面性：患有暴食癥的人可能[受到刺激]開始大吃特吃。但與此同時，觀看吃播的替代體驗可以抑制他們暴飲暴食的沖動。”她在Thrillist網站上解釋道，“這將取決于個人以及這些誘發暴食的因素影響他們的方式。”

至少可以說，美國飲食文化很復雜。似乎我們中有一半人致力于通過鍛煉和營養豐富的飲食來保持健康生活方式，而另一半人則陷入過度飲食模式，尤其是攝入深加工的低營養食品。美國人好吃，而且食量大。隨著習慣的改變，隨著我們花費越來越多的時間在社交媒體上與人交往，它對飲食行為產生影響只是時間問題。盡管受到批評，美國吃播節目仍在互聯網上蓬勃發展，而且看起來不會很快放緩。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）