Power of presence: Effects of physical or digital commensality on consumer perception and acceptance of meals

ABSTRACT

The current COVID-19 pandemic has prevented individuals from gathering together physically because of mandated social distancing, enhancing the popularity of digital commensalism via video telecommunication. Since there has been only limited research on how social presence can influence food consumption experience, this study aimed to determine whether differing means of social presence could influence sensory and emotional responses to consumed meals. A total of 56 participants, comprised of 28 co-habiting pairs, ate meal samples on 3 separate days under 3 different commensality conditions (1) physically together (“physical commensality”), (2) virtually together (“digital commensality”), and (3) alone (“eating alone”). The participants, under the three commensality conditions, rated attribute intensities and acceptance of meal samples and also self-reported emotional responses to the meals. The results demonstrated that participants liked physical commensality the most, followed by digital commensality, with the eating alone condition least liked. While the participants liked the meals under the physical commensality condition more than under the eating alone condition, there was no significant difference in overall meal liking between the physical and digital commensality conditions. Commensality conditions also induced variation in meal-evoked emotional profiles, with the physical and digital commensality conditions more associated with positive valence-related emotions. Differing commensality conditions resulted in variation in the duration of meal consumption, with the shortest eating duration occurring under the eating alone condition. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the great potential for improving eating environments by incorporating technological enhancement into commensality, especially when physical commensality is impossible.