Food
photographers are nothing new in today’s day and age. Every individual can be
labelled a food photographer as long as they own a digital device like a camera
or smart phone. The trend started mushrooming in the 21st century
due to the advancement of technology and the development of new media. Plus,
today, the phenomenon of taking photos of your food before you eat has turned
out as one of the most common habits of the tech-savvy regardless age and
gender-- even grandparents nowadays do so!
Whichever age
group or gender, the habit of taking photos of food before (or after) and then
posting them to Instagram or the likes have slowly spread into the society without
our knowing and has transformed into being a popular global culture today. This
has proven that all human beings are affected by the new media in this era of globalization.
Why we do
so? Apart from sharing your activities with other people, filling up your
Facebook timeline, updating your current posts on Instagram, and attracting
attention from friends and strangers, well, there is scientific reason to
justify the act. According to a study found in the Journal of Consumer
Marketing, there is a positive relationship between the effort of a foodie who
intends to get the perfect photo the food and the degree of enjoyment to the
food afterwards (The feast staff, 2016). The theory- “Eat with our eyes first”
has been proposed by scholars who further explained that when we take photos of
the dish, the act eventually stimulates the brain cells to “taste” the dishes
intensively. Somehow, this would eventually increase one’s appetite. In other
words, it makes food taste better since the “outlook” is pleasant and has a
high aesthetic value.
However, Kingkade
(2013) reported that there is a researcher who claimed that “Instagram-ing” the
food can potentially trigger body problems such as eating disorders and may
also influence the food’s role in our culture. He said that health issues like
obesity might happen because individuals consume excess foods for the sake of
food photography in their social media account. He also mentioned that taking
photo of food may eventually signify mental problems and other health issues;
and this was supported by other scholars like Dr. Valerie Taylor (Dixler, 2013).
Also, there are some ladies who are willing to spend more than 30 minutes to
take nice photos of the food or even themselves even though the food is ready
to serve on dining table. Obviously,
this has totally altered the role of food to us, as a human being.
As
discussed in the article, technology may facilitate daily tasks in terms of
increasing productivity and efficiency. But, it can also be linked complicatedly
to our life especially with regards the food. So, whether we change the
“ritual” or not, depends on how you judge it.
References:
Dixler, H. (2013). Expert: Photographing food may be sign of
mental illness. Retrieved from
http://www.eater.com/
Kingkade, T. (2013, May 10). Instagramming your food may signal bigger
problem, researcher
says. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
The
feast staff. (2016). Here’s why you
should always take photos of your food before you eat
it. Retrieved from http://www.bravotv.com/
By Ng Mei Chee (42680)
It is undeniable that social media today has developed a deep relationship with human beings, and even engage in their daily lives. Nowadays, the food has becoming the central in the photos taken. It is a world apart from snapping the nice scenery of a building, a venue, a thing and so on. Even though it may help to keep the memories and share the nice food with everyone we knew, but I agree with the point that it affects our health too. The people who took the photos of food everytime before eat can be indicated as suffering in mental illness in accordance with Dixler (2013). In a nutshell, technologies make our lives easier, at the same time it also brings bad effect to our health.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, am also victim to this epidemic. Sometimes, if a dish is visually appealing, I find myself whipping out my smartphone to snap a picture-- not for attention, but to store as a memory. Sometimes, it is also for sharing purposes, as many of my Instagram friends are foodies. However, I think it is important to discern between what is "healthy" levels of Instagramming food, and what would lead to health problems. If anyone turns out to develop eating disorders as a result of this act, then it should be considered a borderline obsession and should be taken seriously. It is up to the individuals at hand to decide for themselves where their boundaries lie.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I thoroughly enjoy looking at #foodporn on social media, be it a heavily filtered picture on Instagram or a homemade dish on Facebook. It is interesting to know what people like to eat, and sometimes there will be a mini food review captioned in the picture itself so that I know which places to avoid next time. However, in real life, the act of taking pictures before eating annoys me to no end. There have been plenty of times where my friends would pose the food to snap photos, sometimes taking up to 10 minutes for that perfect picture before eating it. So, my point is, I do love looking at food pictures, but the process of taking pictures irritates me in real life.
ReplyDeleteI love taking photos of my food when it looks good, it's a way of appreciating food. I also believe taking photos of what you eat is a way of creating healthier eating habits. Food diaries or journals are a way of keeping track of what you eat which makes you more conscious of what's healthy and what's not. It depends on how one looks at taking photos of food, but if it is turning into an obsession then they should look for help.
ReplyDeleteI do take photo on food but not too often. It all depends on the occasion. I think the acceleration of the trend might be something to do with the temporary nature of any meal. As food is meant to be eaten, taking a photograph of it is like a way to preserve the thought of that dish long after we've digested. It is also akin to keeping a diary. As humans we have to eat to survive, documenting food can be treated as a mean to record daily existence and also to capture the moment. I realised that even the camera manufactures have also latched on to the trend with all the brands are releasing camera with special "food" functions on them which supposedly highlights the color and texture of food. Of course we shouldn't exploit the advancement of technology as in being too obsessed in food photography until it affects our health. Be smart, people.
ReplyDeleteI do take photo on food but not too often. It all depends on the occasion. I think the acceleration of the trend might be something to do with the temporary nature of any meal. As food is meant to be eaten, taking a photograph of it is like a way to preserve the thought of that dish long after we've digested. It is also akin to keeping a diary. As humans we have to eat to survive, documenting food can be treated as a mean to record daily existence and also to capture the moment. I realised that even the camera manufactures have also latched on to the trend with all the brands are releasing camera with special "food" functions on them which supposedly highlights the color and texture of food. Of course we shouldn't exploit the advancement of technology as in being too obsessed in food photography until it affects our health. Be smart, people.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it is a ritual before eating. Or it may say is a culture nowadays. My parents even ask, "Hey girl, the food looks nice! Have you take photo with it? Can you send to me? I want to share with my colleagues". In my opinion, taking food photo can actually capture the happy moment and share with others. This may not affect our health. However, everything turns bad if there is too over. I remember there is a case in China in year 2014, boy broke up with girl as the girl insist to take every food photo and uploaded it to Wechat before eating. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes to finish this "ritual". Finally, boy decided to break up with her.
ReplyDeleteI admit I’m that kind of person who like to snap photos on food either for the purpose of sharing with family and friends in social apps or keeping as memory. For me, it is a way to appreciate the food. However, it depends on the occasion and type of food that I eat before taking photos. Usually, I will only snap photos on food if I think the food is something special that I have never tried before, for instance nice cuisines of famous Korean restaurant or the food has memorable value for me, for instance my favorite dishes cooked by my beloved parents. Although there are some arguments saying that taking food photos before eating may cause health problems and even lead to breakup between couple in China, I personally think that as long as we do not get addicted to the advancement of technology till our health is affected, food photography is not harmful for people who would like to depend on occasion when snapping food photos like me.
ReplyDelete