Why are people always posting pictures of their food on Facebook and Instagram? I log on to see what my friends are up to but I must admit that I’m not really all that interested in the details of what they’ve eaten. It seems I’m not alone on this, either- there is actually a Facebook page called “Stop Taking Pictures Of Your Food, Just Eat It!” There are a few other pages with similar titles, and I’ve read some articles on the topic as well. Being a “foodie” myself, I get that there is entertainment and satisfaction value to it- I can watch the Food Network for hours and there are a number of cooking blogs I read regularly. What I don’t get is why every bite of food gets posted.
If you’ve been working hard on some culinary creation, of course you’d be proud and want to share your accomplishment. If you’re at a party and you’re impressed by a spectacular display of desserts, you might want to capture that and share it with your friends, in the same way you would a spectacular sunset from your beach vacation. A beautifully plated restaurant dish may also be worthy of documentation, and your friends will probably enjoy seeing these works of art. But posting a bowl of Cheerios on an ordinary morning? I’ve even seen friends’ photos of their yogurt container from lunch- why is that something to share? Some friends post play-by-play pics of dinner prep every night. In some ways it’s like posting every time you get your mail; it’s something we all do and there is usually no magic in it.
Some of the articles are pretty aggressive regarding the food posters, theorizing about deeper reasons people do it. Maybe it’s for validation- they want their friends to say it was okay to eat that huge ice cream dessert, or pat them on the back for eating a salad for lunch. Some people want to show off their artistic and culinary skills, others, their photography skills. For some, it’s just another thing in their day that gets chronicled, using Facebook as a journal that happens to get shared with their friends. Some mental health experts say it may signal an unhealthy relationship with food, which sounds pretty far fetched to me. As long as we’re dipping into mental health waters here, could it be an unhealthy preoccupation with oneself? Are our friends really interested in every minute detail of our lives? I won’t pass judgment here, I just don’t really get. But I can appreciate the art of it, and some of my friends’ nightly dinners do look absolutely delicious!
