Have you recently logged onto Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media website and noticed a lot of shared images of food?
That the ones sharing pictures of food isn’t just your friends, but your family members, distant relatives, and just about everyone? You may be wondering how this came to be and who started this phenomenon.
Since the digital age has made it possible for so much to be shared through social media and with friends, why does food, which is an everyday experience for many people, need to be shared? And why are millennials the ones who are so obsessed with food compared to the general population?
In this article, I explain a few reasons why food is becoming a new trend, and why to millennials, food isn’t just an everyday experience to nourish the mind and body, that it is something more that may make you think twice about.
1. Creativity
It is true that many people who like to be in the kitchen preparing food are known to be creative individuals. This is because creating food can be a fun hobby, which leads to a variety of recipes and new food to try. It takes talent to be able to make food not just look appealing, but taste good.
Millennials are highly creative individuals as well, and they are willing to learn new things, especially if food is involved. One reason why is that food brings people together in all sort of social gatherings, but there is an underlying reason why food is so special to some millennials.
The main reason why is that millennials may want to make something of their lives. For those who are creative, food may be their thing to explore and perfect. This is because millennials want to fill their lives with meaningful moments, and they have better tools to be able to do so.
Since cooking and baking has been mostly the province of women, it is the women who are the ones most likely to want to stay in the environment they know best with the tools at their disposal. That isn’t to say that men can’t be creative in the kitchen or don’t have the tools. Even men like to cook and try new things, but for many men, cooking and baking isn’t their forte.
For millennials, making food in the kitchen may become even more fun if it were to be shared with others, and in the digital age, sharing is so easy.
2. Sharing
Who wouldn’t want to share something that they made or saw something somewhere that inspired them? It may be that women are more social than men when it comes to social gatherings, but it is no wonder how the food women made appeared on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
You may have witnessed this event yourself when you saw a woman pick up her phone and take a picture of the food in front of her. You may have wondered why she took such an interest in her food and where this interest stemmed from.
Food is an expression of the self. Many women are interested in fashion trends too. Food and fashion mix, but not together in a recipe, that would be gross! Food and fashion mix in the sense that both are a sense of expression of the self.
Food just happens to be part of the fashion trend that many other women like to follow too, just like makeup, clothes and jewelry are.
For men, food may also be the same thing as how to express themselves, but it may be more about something entirely different, like how funny it looks, or how creepy they can make the food look.If you have ever seen boys play with their food, you know what I mean.
Sharing images of food is also a way to feel more connected to others. This is why there are so many cookbooks, videos about food, and so many DIY’s (do it yourself).
Sharing food allows for millennials all over the world to show their creativity in the kitchen, or even if they saw creativity from a restaurant that made their food look inspirational, like how neat their display of food looks. They may want to share it with others who may not be able to see it, and that makes the experience unique to them.
3. Memories
With all the creativity and sharing, it then creates a memory. Perhaps this is the reason why there are so many shared images of food on social media websites.
When a memory is created, it can bring the people involved together to reflect on that one time they made and sold sandwiches for those less fortunate, or that one time the blender exploded when trying to create smoothies for brunch with friends.
Whatever the memory, it brought people together to think back to a time that told a story.
Storytelling makes for great conversation starters and for meeting new people who may share the same interest. It also makes it easier to find someone who likes to make the same silly designs on their cupcakes or someone who likes the same toppings on their pizza.
This could lead to a new budding relationship, or to a new business formed by just the idea of food. Imagine being able to think back to when that new relationship began, or when that business took off. Food may be just an everyday experience, but it could lead to something more if you believe.
To wrap things up, (pun intended) millennials may be getting more attention for being so obsessed with food, but everyone needs to eat. Why not make the experience more enjoyable by getting creative in the kitchen, sharing ideas and making a memory to share with others to meet new people and to make more experiences together?
It doesn’t have to be over the top, but it could be fun if so many millennials are already doing it as well, and you may surprise yourself along the way.
Image credit: everypixel
