Mukbang
by Thomas King, Class of 2026

Humanity is fraught with what they "should be." This purity culture, this culture of perfection, this culture of relentless self-improvement, is on an infinite loop. 

Enough. 

True, people may be imbued with the normalcy bias, the belief that nothing bad will happen to them, yet their food stabs them in the back. Heart attack. Stroke. Diabetes. 

Is it any wonder that mukbang is a trend? We deny ourselves the pleasure of food, so we stalk the mukbang. Proliferating on TikTok are people who eat for a living. 

This isn't dainty eating. This is food served with a shovel.  Nick Avocado eats thousands of calories of junk food while talking, locking eye contact with envious and hungry people. When he started his channel he was around 180 pounds, and now he weighs over 350. Even Avocado was plagued with the normalcy bias. He could eat on camera daily, and nothing would happen. 

Surprise. 

But the viewers? We punish ourselves for our gluttony, letting the Nick Avocados eat for us, dive into pleasure, and die. 

It's pseudo gluttony.