Hashtag #foodstagram: The perils of ‘foodstagraming’

Snapping photos of meals before eating them is now the fad, especially when Instagram came into the social media scene. I admit that being a fitness advocate forces me to be a little bit annoyed with my friends who are more concerned with telling the world about the food they’re about to put in their mouth than knowing its health benefits.

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But hear me out: my annoyance toward this trend is supported by expert opinion. According to a study, obsessively documenting one’s meal beckons a dieting problem. Those who snap a photo of their food and upload them to Instagram before they eat lack a key element in social interaction. These people are the types who are more concerned about telling the imaginary, virtual world about their food instead of socializing personally with people.

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Furthermore, for TV host Dr. Oz, what he calls “food porn”—not only “foodstagramming,” but also food photography at large—is just making the society fatter. It also destroys one’s diet, as pictures of food entices one to trade what’s in front of him with what he saw online. This only shows that over-publicizing a meal is nothing different from intruding and changing one’s lifestyle and diet.

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Honestly, I really don’t mind people “foodstagramming” before eating, so long as it is not over-done, and it does not interfere with other people’s lives, say if they’re eating in a restaurant. Seriously, folks. There are more important things in life than just taking pictures of your food.

David Wayne Fish is glad not to have an Instagram account. But you can catch him on Twitter.