Social media and eating behavior in later life: psychological pathways, evidence gaps, and an age-inclusive research agenda

Population aging is unfolding within a food environment increasingly organized through social-media platforms. This Mini Review develops a psychological framework linking social-media content and engagement to eating behavior in later life. A focused narrative search and targeted supplementary identification informed the selection of 26 synthesis sources, organized by population, exposure, and outcome into six evidence classes. Four pathways structure the synthesis: social connection and digital commensality; food information and nutrition literacy; social comparison, affect, and dietary self-regulation; and commercial cues and algorithmic curation. Socioemotional selectivity and information-processing theory anchor the relational and appraisal mechanisms linking digital encounters with meals. The evidence includes one direct older-user study with a dietary outcome, alongside eating-context studies, content audits, adjacent digital-health research, and broader-age bridging evidence. Later-life conditions shape exposure, processing, and response across the framework. Nutritional priorities include maintaining appetite, adequate intake, and function, alongside disease-specific dietary management. We identify research priorities that combine qualitative accounts of active content use with exposure measurement, longitudinal and experimental designs, and inclusive recruitment. The framework specifies testable relationships between digital experiences and eating outcomes while identifying the populations and conditions in which those relationships warrant examination.