3 Why Do We Keep Buying Viral Food, Even Though We’re Often Disappointed? Every time a new food or drink goes viral on social media, there’s always someone willing to queue for ages just to try it. But how much influence does “viral” status actually have on our purchasing decisions? And more importantly, is the taste really worth all the hype?Jakpat recently surveyed the habits of 1,637 respondents from 34 provinces about the viral food phenomenon, and the results are pretty amusing. There’s FOMO, there’s disappointment, but oddly enough, people keep coming back for more. We’re Tempted, But Not Completely Reckless It turns out most people are still fairly rational about this. Nearly half of respondents (48%) admit they only occasionally buy food or drinks because they’re viral and it’s not a regular habit. Only a small portion (16%) say they’re genuinely frequent trend-followers, while a handful (6%) claim they barely care about the hype at all. Interestingly, this pattern doesn’t differ much between men and women. Women are slightly more likely to get swept up in trends compared to men, though the gap isn’t huge. What stands out more is that men tend to be more “indifferent”: the percentage who say they have zero interest in following viral food trends is higher among men (8.1%) than women (5%). High Expectations, Often Disappointing Reality Even though most people are fairly selective about jumping on trends, their experience after actually trying viral food isn’t always sweet. Over 70% of respondents admit they’ve felt disappointed after trying viral food whether occasionally or repeatedly, whether because the taste was underwhelming, the portion didn’t match the price, or it was simply all hype and no substance. Only 3.4% say they’ve never been disappointed at all.In other words, most of us are actually aware the risk of disappointment exists, but we stay curious and try again anyway whenever a new trend pops up. FOMO, it seems, is strong enough to outweigh the small trauma of past experiences. Looking at it by gender, women report feeling disappointed slightly more often than men. But interestingly, men who do get disappointed tend to experience it more repeatedly, while men are also the group most likely to say they’ve never been disappointed at all. So there are two extremes among men: some are genuinely unlucky over and over, while others come out unscathed every time. The Takeaway Social media’s influence on our food decisions is real, but most people aren’t actually blindly following the crowd. The problem is, when they finally do give in and try something, the result is more often disappointing than satisfying.This is an important signal for brands and food content creators: hype that isn’t backed by consistent quality can end up eroding consumer trust instead of building it. So if you’re someone who loves hunting down viral food, maybe it’s time to be a little more selective, check honest reviews before joining the queue, so you don’t end up disappointed again.
