How social media changed the way we eat
There are many reasons we take and share pictures of food.
Making something ourselves is a source of pride, or we want to record an event or social occasion. Maybe it’s a special treat we want to remember or perhaps the food is beautiful, unusual or different.
Often it’s because we want to track what we’re eating – apparently 23 per cent of Instagram users photograph their food for a photoblog or as a food diary.
There are few things that can bring people closer together the same way as sharing a meal does – even if that sharing experience happens via a screen rather than across a table.
We’ve always eaten with our eyes first and social media is an amplification of this.
It’s exciting, whether it’s taking a bit of extra care when plating up a dish or when you’ve finally ordered a menu item that all your online friends are raving about. It adds to the whole experience of eating.
When we share food on social media, we invite other people to participate in our experience. By posting about our food on social media, we never truly eat alone.
DID YOU KNOW?
More than half of UK Twitter users log on when they’re in a restaurant
Of course, the online world of food isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Sharing pictures of your food invites assumptions, judgments and shaming. And following food accounts invites comparison. This can often lead to food anxiety. Most people who walk through the door to my clinic come because they have a relationship with food that is riddled with fear, shame and anxiety. They have been exposed to a significant amount of misinformation – usually online – and they’re tired of feeling stressed about everything they’re eating.
Influencers do exactly that – they use their online presence to influence the buying, eating or exercise habits of their followers.
It’s known that anecdotes are more appealing and memorable than statistics, which is why personal stories about food and health are very common on social media.
One of the reasons we share food pictures online is for status. We’re far more likely to post a food picture from an expensive Michelin-starred restaurant or an exclusive food event than we are from the local pub. These