Social Media is Changing the Way We Eat

I never put much thought into the ways in which our diets are changing with the evolution of social media. After browsing through my Instagram pictures, I realized nearly 35 of my pictures were of food. I can almost guarantee that there are at least two pictures of food on m timeline every time I check Instagram. This led me to the realization that our society is obsessed with taking pictures of our food and posting them for everyone to see.

Growing up, my family always sat down for dinner together every night. Our phones were never welcome, so it was a shock for me to come to college and have dinner with my friends…and their phones. Generally, it was difficult to have a conversation with my friends at dinner because they were so consumed by their phones.  Since being at school, I have noticed myself start using my phone at meals as well. It is normal for all of us to be scrolling through social media while out at a restaurant. For the most part, tweets or posts we see are what spark conversations. The constant need for being plugged in has definitely changed the way we eat as a society for two reasons.

As the “How the Web is Changing the Way We Eat” article mentioned, we are beginning to favor many smaller servings that we can share with our friends at dinner. This definitely applies to my friends and me. When going to a restaurant, we usually all order one or two small appetizers and share them.  

I think social media also affects the way we eat because we are constantly scrolling through seeing pictures people post of their meals. There have been many times I have seen a picture on Instagram and then decided to make that for dinner or to go eat somewhere because I saw someone posted a picture of their food from that restaurant. There is a lot social media has changed, and the way we eat is definitely at the top of the list.