New Report Shows Social Media Is Vastly Improving People's Cooking Skills

Have you ever seen a cooking show and wondered, "Man, how do those guys know what to do? They make cooking all that stuff look so easy." Andrew Rea (better known as Binging with Babish) and Chef John of Food Wishes make cooking even the most complicated dishes look like nothing. But when you actually get into the kitchen, it all seems so overwhelming to you. It's like you jumped from eighth-grade algebra to college-level statistics in one step. 

While you can proudly say that you're not a klutz or completely hopeless in the kitchen, you needn't be ashamed to admit your cooking skills could use a little improvement. Fortunately, there are many ways to help increase your confidence in the kitchen, whether it's doing simple steps like practicing your favorite recipes and getting comfortable with the tools and appliances you use in the kitchen or brushing up on your skills by learning new methods and techniques over time. By slowly acclimating yourself with your kitchen, you'll begin to find that things that seem complex and confusing at first are actually simple, not daunting.

But does social media really help with increasing confidence in the kitchen?

ButcherBox, best known for its direct-to-consumer business model, shared in a March 1 press release that social media was improving customer's cooking skills in the kitchen. In its report, ButcherBox claims that 52% of Americans (out of the 88% of people who use social media for culinary inspiration) depend on social media sites as a guideline to prepare weekly meals. 

Even more impressive is that 56% of Americans feel "increased confidence" thanks to social media, while 72% of respondents claim that social media educates them on new cooking tips, hacks, and techniques. Other beneficial outcomes reported includes people making changes to their diets and shopping habits, such as getting an ingredient they had never thought to use before. It's not just Generation Z who supposedly reaps the benefits of social media-inspired cooking, either — a considerable percentage of Generation X and Baby Boomers use social media to influence their cooking.

The BBC also ran a report in 2021 discussing how online influencers can "sway" our food choices, similar to people following the fad of their favorite celebrity.