The association of addictive mukbang watching with mukbang watching motives, emotion regulation, impulsivity, and psychiatric distress

Extant literature has focused on the psychological and emotional predictors of addictive use of different types of specific online activities, including social media addiction, online gaming addiction, and online sex addiction. However, there is little research on the addictive engagement of watching online eating shows called mukbang. The present paper describes the research protocol of a study that will examine motivational, emotional, and psychological risk factors of addictive mukbang watching. An online survey comprised of the Motives for Watching Mukbang Questionnaire, Mukbang Addiction Scale, Short UPPS-P Impulsivity Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales will be used to collect data from at least 1,000 mukbang watchers. The research methodology of the investigation is illustrated in the present paper, and describes the data collection, assessment tools, and analytic strategy that will be used to investigate the research questions and hypotheses. The study will contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence on associations which have never before been demonstrated. More specifically, the relationship between addictive mukbang watching and mukbang watching motives, impulsivity, emotion regulation, and psychiatric distress will be provided. Furthermore, future directions on studying addictive mukbang watching are discussed.