Immigration patterns are reflected in Facebook data on popular foods and drinks
Novel method uses food and drink interests to quantify cultural similarity between countries
Researchers have developed a novel strategy for using Facebook data to measure cultural similarity between countries, revealing associations between immigration patterns and people’s food and drink interests. Carolina Vieira of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on February 9, 2022.
This is based on data from the Facebook advertisement platform. The size of the words is proportional to the audience interested in the food and drink in the country. The colors do not have substantive meaning: they are used only to differentiate the words.
Vieira et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Migration may play a key role in shaping cultural similarities between countries. However, its influence is difficult to study, partly due to the challenge of quantifying culture. Typically, researchers have relied on surveys to compare different countries’ cultures, but surveys are associated with several difficulties, such as their cost, the possibility of bias in their construction, and the difficulty of applying them to a large number of countries.
To complement survey data, Vieira and colleagues have now developed a new analytical method based on earlier evidence that food and drink preferences may be a proxy for cultural similarities between countries. The new method employs data on the top 50 food and drink preferences for any given country as captured by the Facebook Advertising Platform.
To demonstrate the new method, the researchers applied it to 16 countries, finding that food and drink interests generally reflect immigration patterns. In most countries, including the U.S., preferences for foreign food and drink align with top foods and drinks in the countries from which most immigrants came. Countries with fewer immigrants, such as Indonesia, Japan, Russia, and Turkey, stand apart from the others, showing more idiosyncrasy in their preferences for foreign foods and drinks.
The findings align well with earlier survey data, and they highlight asymmetry between countries; for instance, the top 50 foods and drinks from Mexico are more popular in the U.S. than the top 50 U.S. foods and drinks are in Mexico, reflecting a greater degree of immigration from Mexico to the U.S. than vice versa.
Overall, the researchers say, this study suggests that immigrants indeed help shape the culture of their destination country. Future research could refine the new method outlined in this study or repurpose it to examine and compare other interests beyond food and drink.
The authors add: “We analyze data from Facebook users about their food and drink preferences to measure the cultural similarity between 16 countries. When compared with official migration data, we observe that countries with more immigrants show a higher cultural similarity between the origin and destination countries.”
Other news from the department science
Most read news
More news from our other portals
Last viewed contents
Vertical Harvest Raises $8.35 Million in Series A Funding to Jump-Start Expansion - Vertical Harvest is shaping a new model of civic infrastructure in the U.S. with urban indoor vertical farms co-located with affordable housing all while creating jobs for the underemployed
Dutch innovation ‘TuNo’ must contribute to the survival of endangered tuna species
Non-alcoholic drinks brands are sparkling as the world looks to post-COVID future - Monster, Lipton, and Gatorade are fastest growing brands in ranking this year
Hershey to Acquire Two Manufacturing Facilities from Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing - Enables Sustained Growth for SkinnyPop brand through Supply Chain Expansion
Work ability is influenced by physical fitness, social life and cognitive functions
Virginia Tech researchers work to create biodegradable bioplastics from food waste - Researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are making affordable bioplastics
Mintel strengthens its global food and drink team with senior nutrition appointment
Eating almonds daily boosts exercise recovery molecule by 69% among ‘weekend warriors’ - Four-week daily dietary supplementation with almonds increased level of beneficial 12,13-DiHOME after exercise, benefiting recovery
The current dietary recommendations would quickly empty the shelves in supermarkets
New review study shows that egg-industry-funded research downplays danger of cholesterol
Uncovering the mysteries of alfalfa seed dormancy through multispectral imaging analysis
