Thinking about how future historians will look back on the early 21st century can be a terrifying experience.
Sure, we have cultural markers to be proud of: Pokemon Cards, Gogglebox and #DrummondPuddleWatch to name a few.
There isn’t the same unanimous love shown to the modern phenomenon that is taking pictures of food, though. Sure, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with putting together a homemade cheeseburger fit for the gods and taking a quick snap to prove to everyone that you’ve graduated from dry Super Noodles on toast.
But a quick scroll through your daily Instagram feed is enough to tell you that there are people that take it a bit too far. Sometimes you wish people would have their cake and JUST EAT THE DAMN THING WE DON’T CARE HOW MANY IRRESISTIBLE FILTERS THE LATEST UPDATE HAS ADDED.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCxzuiSmA9K/?tagged=foodporn
Anyway, there is some good news for all you budding food pornographers. Actual scientific research has revealed that Instagramming your latest masterpiece might actually make it taste better - provided its fat content is through the roof.
A study by the Report by the
Journal of Consumer Marketing got 120 participants from two universities in America to eat a really nice piece of cake.
Some were instructed to take a picture of the cake first, while the others were told they could munch away at will.
As the New York Magazine reports it, the snap-happy participants perceived the cake to taste better than those who enjoyed their pudding the old fashioned way.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCx7xtMkpDH/?tagged=foodporn
It’s worth noting that the same process was repeated for a salad, and there was no obvious difference in the feedback.
What the researchers did find, however, was that looking through other people’s healthy food photos and uploading your own can boost the satisfaction of health-conscious eating. The first rule of Kale club is that absolutely everybody must know about Kale club immediately.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCx7xV9xtL8/?tagged=foodporn
So there you have it. Food porn is nothing to do with obnoxious boasting; it improves meals. It can surely only be a matter of time before science comes out in support of notifying your Facebook friends every time you arrive at the gym.
Featured image credit: Jörg Schubert via Flickr
