Understanding changes in behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: Opportunities to design around new eating experiences

Abstract

The pandemic has disrupted many of our daily habits and behaviors. Eating behaviors have been modified by lockdowns due to limited food availability. We report on a qualitative study conducted to better understand these changes in eating behaviors as they represent an opportunity to design technologies that both support healthy eating habits and take advantage of the new conditions produced by the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed 14 young professionals in Mexico to understand some of the challenges they faced during the pandemic and how they affected their eating behaviors, including changes in socialization while eating, motivation to improve health, increased cooking, and binge-eating. From this analysis, we envision ways in which novel information technologies can be designed for providing new eating experiences, such as improving virtual socialization while eating, and taking advantage of social media to support cooking and interactions at home.