Do you take a photo of your food before eating? Social medias like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even TikTok is full with pictures of food such as coffee, hamburgers and cakes. Push your TikTok career to the top, buy TikTok likes. Do you have an idea what’s behind it? And what’s next for food? The Austrian trend researcher and nutritionist Hanni Rützler has answers.
What is “Food Porn”?
This describes a phenomenon that people present themselves about what they eat and communicate to the outside world. Food has really become a phenomenon with which one can communicate one’s own values, preferences and orientations.
Why do people upload pictures of their food on the Internet?
This is an absolute zeitgeist phenomenon. One could now make a long way: the laid table has always been an expression of the times. There is a beautiful analysis of what the disciples had on the table at the last meal: over the centuries, this has changed significantly. At the moment, all this is very individualized. Food is a wonderful way to express individuality.
What is individual about the image of a coffee cup with milk foam?
It’s also about the connected we. Take the latte macchiato. It has become a code of a very specific lifestyle. In the past, it was fashion codes or certain musical styles that expressed one’s individuality and at the same time his belonging to certain groups. Today it is food and drink. If you order a latte macchiato or ceviche (a Peruvian specialty) today, you always signal who you want to be.
What else can come next for the mega-theme of food?
Globalization has been on the rise in cities for some time, now at a lower level. We are no longer talking about Chinese or Italian, but about specific regions. At the same time, a new self-confidence is reflected: especially in Latin American cuisine, such as in Peru. With the economic development came the self-confidence. This is reflected in the pride of your own kitchen. They don’t want to be all Europeans or Americans. They want their cuisine, their tradition, their spice combination. On the subject of food trucks: We have many male lateral entrants, autodidacts, for which cooking has become a sensual action. Food is something wonderfully sensual.
Photographed food should taste better
In addition, US researchers want to find that photographed food tastes better. This is the result of a 2016 research paper published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing. The study found that meals shared online are tastier. In addition, the renunciation of not photographing your food ensures that something is missing. This makes the meal taste worse.