The Foodstagramming

            Whenever you go to a new restaurant or a food trip, do you often take a picture of your food? Whenever you go online in the social media sites, do you feel like “drooling” whenever a food comes out of your timeline or feed? If yes is your answer, welcome to the #foodporn and #foodgasm.

Selfie. Social media consumers are all aware of its significance to the modern day culture and hashtags are all are part of a larger phenomenon. We will now introduce to   you the food’s very own selfies. And with over a million collective tags on Instagram, #foodporn and #foodgasm have become part of a certifiable thing.

Foodstagramming

The very basic purpose of food is life. But we, consumers of social media, take a moment to think that food makes us all happy. We love food. Isn’t it logical that food get its moment of inter-webular Instagram, twitter and facebook fame? In search of answers we interviewed 3 foodies who love to eat and take pictures ravishingly.

We asked the three interviewees 3 set of questions which include; how often do they eat in restaurants and with whom; do they always take pictures before they munch and why and; what special benefits they get from taking pictures.

                                                 (Image taken from Instagram/itsdmlsheree)

            For the first question, 2 of them answered “frequent” and as opposed to 1 person, “every day” is her answer.  They are with their families and friends whenever they go in restaurants or food stalls.

            Talking about “taking pictures”, all of them answered “sometimes”, for reasons: publicity purposes, new and catching-up-attention look of food or simply capturing memories.

                                                (Image taken from Instagram/tropikannuh)

            As for question no.3 there are 3 varied answers of the interviewees: happiness, satisfaction and memories.

                                                    (Image taken from Instagram/paulaxdenise)

The answers from the interviewees showcase their convenience in using their social media assets. It has shown that the concreteness of life can be possibly adopted in social media. Specifically, their eat n’ bond in restaurants or food stalls are becoming tangible with the people who have seen it in Instagram, Facebook or any social media. The interconnection of life habits into the social media is being progressive. Moreover, with these things happening, the 3 interviewees shared their affection of taking pictures of their foods. One to highlight is “satisfaction”. Before, we could hear satisfaction only if we are to fulfill a task and we are overwhelmed to see the results and be noted of the acts that is done. Now, “satisfaction” overt something that only eyes can see and need not an action to feel satisfied– as long as you feel like it’s appealing in the eyes; it’s beautiful! The classic reasons—to capture and keep memories and give happiness will never be omitted on the list. The ability of the social media to incorporate new and indifferent way of living has sprung all over the people and we can see how much they are affected of it.

The Oops and Downs of Foodstagramming

Social media sites have been such a big part of our lives nowadays that we always find the need to share every little interesting thing that we do. Whether it be the last adventure that we had, super-duper cute #ootd or just a fun day out with friends, a post on social media is always there to follow.

Yes, we all love to look at the pictures of burgers, pizza that make us drool all over the place. It’s a good feeling beyond any adjective that we can describe. Those which can, might be even superficial to that feeling and out of context. You just have this habitable pleasure of looking at those food oozing with juices and those colors spurting out of the screens of our devices.

But wait – there’s something wrong.

You might not be aware of it but there are several effects of foodstagramming that are dangerous and can lead to serious problems.

Have you ever had this guilty feeling towards looking at the delicious pictures of food? If you haven’t, then try to rethink and look at yourself in the mirror. Those who are guilty and are easily swayed by the seducing behavior of these super-caloric-fatty-salty food, you better work on your weight or else Mr. Obesity will come and get you at night coupled with heart-attacks.

 “Oh, look at that food, it must be so delicious!”

“Man, I can’t wait to get my hands on that hamburger!”

These are few of what people say when they see pictures of appetizing food. Even if you don’t know it, you are craving to lay your mouth on just a bite of it. And this might just be a start of the upcoming problems you may face in the coming future.

In a recent scientific paper published in Brain and Cognition journal in 2015, it was found out that just looking at pictures posted by foodstagrammers can affect the way we eat. Authors noted that exposure to different kinds of appetizing food is proven to prompt an array of physiological, neural and behavioral responses.

In other words, when you look at a picture of a hamburger, it might just affect you in a way that all you can think of is eating delicious food at restaurants, which can lead to cravings—which can lead to overeating that will in turn affect your weight.

And that’s not all: Over consumption of unhealthy food have innumerable bad effects on a person’s body, which we all know.

Another living proof of these destructive media is when we look at food commercials and food shows on tv which can lead to increase in “their consumption of whatever food happens to be within reach,".

This may not be dangerous at all, but when we look at the situation in the future, setting the minds of the people to eat more even though we know how these unhealthy foods are not supposed to be eaten regularly, social media has just the way of powerfully persuading lots of people who happens to be surfing the internet.

In a recent study conducted by the University of Vermont Department of Nutrition and Food Science in 2015, social media sources of food pictures and information are correlated with higher BMI. “It could be that seeing photos of ‘perfect,’ often rich foods your friends post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram makes it seem like their unhealthy eating patterns are the norm,” said Lizzy Pope, assistant professor in UVM's Department of Nutrition and Food Science, and the study’s lead author.

Another study claims that taking a picture of food and posting it on social media makes it taste better. The University of Minnesota and Harvard Business School researchers found that “rituals enhance the enjoyment of consumption because of the greater involvement in the experience that they prompt.”

Ring a bell?

The study though that made the participants do certain rituals like unwrapping the first half of a candy to eat and leaving the other half to be eaten minutes later, didn’t involve any taking of pictures and posting it on Instagram. But looking at the hype of taking a picture first before eating done by teenagers nowadays, we can see it is becoming more of a worldwide ritual. And Foodstagrammers know how this feels: “Experiment 3 found that performing a ritual oneself enhances consumption more than watching someone else perform the same ritual”.

In this study, it was also suggested that having a delay between the ritual and the “proper” eating enhances the excitement and enjoyment. “ So that explains how we feel whenever we see a photo of foods deliciously garnished before the time when we actually eat the food itself served in front of us. It just makes our tummy rumbling and our mouths craving.

Believe it or not non-Foodstagrammers, when you start to post a single photo of food from your camera on Facebook or Instagram, don’t even wonder how come you have already posted tons of pictures in a blink of an eye. This hobby just never makes you let go of that pleasure of Foodstagramming and eating. And when you get used to it, remember to always look out for your own weight.

Ohh, yes

Foodstagramming is still allowed. We’re not saying you shouldn’t do it at all after the many bad news you’ve just read. It’s definitely one way of showing people out there that you enjoy living your life which is by the way expressed thoroughly through social media. And forcing somebody to do something he/she doesn’t want to do is not healthy for a person, too. And we only want you to be as healthy as a person can be.

Just imagine eating and posting a picture of food like this:

                                                                          (Image taken from www.twoanyone.com)

Yumm, right? It really is a food worth posting a photo.

Ohh, no

But keep in mind that what you’re spreading might be bad especially for persons who experience weight problems. It’s a big no-no too, most importantly for yourself because indulging in these caloric types of food and not losing weight is not good for the body especially if you are still studying. And remember, “He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.”—Thomas Carlyle

So eat healthily and spread healthily, guys. ;)  

Writers
Lomboy, Canciller, Balatucan