Exploring food poverty experiences in the German Twitter-Sphere

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 1398
• Main Authors: Bartelmeß, Tina, Schönfeld, Mirco, Pfeffer, Jürgen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 25.05.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Content analysis; COVID-19; Digital media; Economic aspects; Families & family life; Food; Food insecurity; Food poverty; Food prices; Food supply; Food Supply - statistics & numerical data; German language; Germany; Hashtag; Health aspects; Health promotion; Humans; Inflation; Low income groups; Meals; Multidimensional deprivation; Narratives; Nutrition research; Pandemics; Physiology; Poverty; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative Research; Research methods; Social aspects; Social exclusion; Social factors; Social media; Social Media - statistics & numerical data; Social networks; Social organization; Social sciences; Twitter; Germany; Ukraine; Hashtag; Twitter; Food insecurity; Multidimensional deprivation; Germany; Food poverty
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18926-8

This study investigates the subjective perceptions of food poverty in Germany by analysing Twitter discourse using the German-language hashtag #IchBinArmutsbetroffen (#IamPovertyAffected) and examines the extent to which various dimensions of a multidimensional theoretical model of food poverty are represented in the discourse. Employing a combination of computational social science and qualitative social research methods, the research identifies, and analyses tweets related to nutrition by applying a hierarchical dictionary search and qualitative content analysis. By examining the narratives and statements of individuals affected by food poverty, the study also investigates the interplay among different subdimensions of this phenomenon. The analysis of 1,112 tweets revealed that 57.96% focused on the material dimension and 42.04% on the social dimension of food poverty, suggesting a relatively balanced emphasis on material and social aspects of food poverty in the narratives of those affected. The findings reveal that tweets on material food poverty underscore economic challenges and resource scarcity for food. Social food poverty tweets demonstrate widespread deprivation in social participation, leading to isolation, exclusion, and social network loss. Overall, the results elucidate intricate interconnections among subdimensions and multidimensional manifestations of food poverty. This study contributes methodologically by presenting an approach for extracting food-related textual social media data and empirically by providing novel insights into the perceptions and multifaceted manifestations of food poverty in Germany. The results can aid in a better understanding of the phenomenon of food poverty as it currently manifests in Germany, and in developing targeted social, health-promoting, and political measures that address more effectively the empirically evident multidimensionality of the phenomenon.