From plate to post: exploring representations of #familymeals through a content analysis of Instagram

Abstract Family meals are a popular topic on social media, where people regularly source and share food and nutrition information. However, no research has explored what family meal content is being shared on social media. This study employed a mixed-methods content analysis approach to explore how family meals are portrayed on Instagram. Four hashtags were identified through systematic screening: #familymeals, #familybreakfast, #familylunch, and #familydinner. All post details (video/image, caption, engagement, and account) were collected from the top 15 posts from each hashtag weekly for 14 weeks (February–May 2024). Data were analyzed using a coding framework in REDCap. A total of 564 posts from 359 unique accounts were included. Most account holders were women (86.3%). Recipe developers were the most common account type (38.4%). Most posts depicted food/drink (92.9%), predominantly plated meals (86.6%) and core foods (76.7%), and appeared staged (64.7%). Many captions included meal ideas (70.6%) linking out to or providing recipes (40% and 38.4%) and were described as “quick” or “easy” (38.9%). Differences in post and caption content across hashtags indicated perceptions of what family meals should look like depending on time of day, e.g. home-cooked meal at dinner, discretionary food at breakfast, family bonding at lunch. While some information provided in these hashtags may be useful for parents (e.g. quick and easy recipes), the portrayal of perfect meals and mealtimes may perpetuate harmful expectations. Further research is needed to understand how these representations impact parents, and how Instagram can be used to promote realistic, healthy family meals across the day.