New study says we should stop Instagramming our food, because this is 2017 and we’re not allowed to do anything fun anymore

Taking pictures of your food is totally normal. We all do it, even though most of us probably like to pretend that we’re better than that, “god can’t you just eat your food without taking a picture of it” (those people are all liars, by the way). To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I ordered a meal and had to decide whether it was pretty enough to Instagram or not.

But all that’s about to change, thanks to a new study ruining our favourite hobby as apparently, taking pictures of our food is making it less enjoyable to eat. Thanks a lot, 2017. I’m not sure how, but I’m almost certain we can find a way to blame this on Trump. Or May.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT6Z9VsFAmZ/?tagged=foodporn&hl=en

The research was conducted by US Marketing professors at the BYU Marriott School of Management who investigated the effects of looking at and photographing food can have on your actual enjoyment when eating it. They found that over-exposure to images of food can affects a person’s satiation, which basically means that they found it less enjoyable to eat.

In one of their studies, half of the participants views pictures of sweet foods like cake and chocolate while the other half looked at pictures of salty foods, rating each picture on how appetising it looked. The study finished with them eating peanuts, a salty food, and the participants that had looked at pictures of salty food actually said they enjoyed it less than the others. The researchers say this is because they were already satiated on the sensory experience of the saltiness.

Basically, they already felt like they had eaten the food, which ruined their appetites.

Professor Joseph Redden explains: “When we Instagram, we inherently must focus our attention on the item in the picture, even for that very brief moment. We can savour an upcoming indulgent treat if the Instagram post triggers quick thoughts about eating the food, or a dish can seem more special by the mere fact that we’ve decided it qualifies as an Instagram moment.

“However, if we spend too much time repeatedly viewing such foods, our paper suggests this can lead to pre-satiation. You’re already a bit tired of the food before you even start eating it”.

Redden is hesitant to make any health claims though: taking photos of food isn’t recommended as a dieting strategy. Obviously.