Social media can both help and hurt efforts to reduce food waste, according to a new study out of Shanghai. While platforms like WeChat promote awareness and sustainable habits, they also encourage compulsive buying — especially among users with strong materialistic values — leading to more food waste.
Researchers at Jiangnan University Taihu College and Jiangnan University conducted a peer-reviewed study that surveyed 1,024 residents in Shanghai, one of China’s most digitally connected cities.
Using structural equation modelling, they analysed how social media usage, materialism, and compulsive buying behaviours influenced food waste.
They subsequently found that while social media could positively influence consumer habits, its growing link to impulsive consumption must be addressed if policymakers and food companies want to reduce waste at scale.
Social media helps…somewhat
The study found that people who used social media actively — particularly to follow food-saving campaigns or practical advice — were less likely to waste food. The more users engaged with helpful, educational content, the more conscious they became about how much they bought and threw away.
Government agencies, non-profits, and influencers were all reported to play a role in spreading awareness. Campaigns on platforms like WeChat that promoted portion control, smart shopping, and storage tips also made a measurable difference.
The paper confirmed a statistically significant negative link between social media use and food waste. It also pointed to features like recipe sharing, leftover tips, and apps that tracked expiry dates or redirected unsold food as effective tools.
Online shopping, status pressure drive overconsumption
However, the researchers also found that the same digital platforms that helped people save food were simultaneously pushing them to buy more than they needed.
The study revealed strong links between social media use and compulsive buying, particularly impulsive purchases driven by instant gratification. Personalised ads, influencer endorsements, flash sales, and peer pressure all contributed to what researchers called “obsessive-compulsive buying”.
The researchers attributed this to people not just wanting to eat better, but also wanting to post about it, which created pressure to buy more food — often, just for appearance.
This buying behaviour often leads to waste — consumers buy large amounts of food during online promotions, forget expiry dates, or purchase trendy but impractical items. When they don’t use or finish what they’ve bought, they end up discarding it.
A complex media landscape
The study also called for more nuanced media literacy among consumers. Social media users who seek likes, approval, or social validation are more prone to materialistic behaviour and as such, are more likely to waste food in the process.
This aligns with earlier research showing that materialists often over-purchase to cope with stress or to impress others.
The study’s authors pointed to China’s cultural context, where digital life is tightly interwoven with social comparison.
Showing off a meal or posting one’s groceries has become a social activity that leads some people to buy for the photo instead of for actual consumption.
Materialism was also found to mediate the link between social media use and compulsive buying, showing that deeper values, not just platform design, shaped consumption habits. Materialistic values were also a predictor of both impulsive and obsessive buying patterns.
Food waste still growing globally
Concerns over food waste are growing worldwide. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), nearly one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. Reducing food waste is a top priority in reaching its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Shanghai’s case is especially relevant — as a city of 25 million with high digital penetration, it mirrors trends seen in other megacities across Asia and beyond. Consumers there are affluent, connected, and deeply influenced by online trends.
However, this issue is not unique to China. The researchers revealed that cities in Europe, North America, and the Middle East were experiencing the same mix of digital convenience and over-consumption.
Policy implications: Regulate, educate, innovate
To aid in food conservation, China’s government and several social groups have publicised their efforts in detail, such as enforcing limitations on certain live transmissions they consider unethical.
These include wasteful actions like feigning food consumption, over-indulging in food, and over-eating during live broadcasts, which the government has expressly forbidden.
The researchers called for government bodies to “utilise social media effectively for crafting educational approaches aimed at reducing food waste”.
By passing critical legislation and policies, public service ads, and advice on food conservation, government agencies can increase public awareness of food wastage and encourage the general public to value food more.
Rethink food marketing in the digital age
The message for the food industry is clear: social media is a powerful tool that shapes what, how and why consumers buy. It can help reduce waste — but only if brands, platforms, and governments align their incentives with sustainability.
The study showed that simply promoting “awareness” would not be enough. Stakeholders must also recognise the emotional, psychological, and social drivers of waste.
Moreover, addressing compulsive buying and materialistic values is just as important as promoting expiration date tracking or portion sizing.
Directions for the future
The researchers acknowledged several limitations of their study. Firstly, its cross-sectional research limited the results’ generalisability.
They added that future scholars should “focus on qualitative and longitudinal data collection to more accurately frame the mechanisms that lead to food waste”.
Furthermore, they had collected all the variables at one time and concurrently — this meant they might have missed out on the respondents’ cognitive opinions.
They concluded: “Our study is based on questionnaire data from Shanghai citizens. The study reflects the perceptions of people living in a specific geographical area, as it was conducted on individuals in Eastern culture.
“It is essential to model food waste behaviour in different cultures. Therefore, it is recommended that a wider sample be used, and possible comparisons can be made in different geographical locations.”
Source: SSRN
“Reducing Food Waste in Media Age: How Does Social Media Usage Affect Residents’ Food Waste?”
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4791449
Authors: Xujin Pu et al.