<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"FacebookPinterest\n\n My wife got an iPhone recently. She signed up for Instagram, because friends said, \"You totally have to, it's so ah-MAYzing!\"And as far as I can tell from spying on her account, there are four types of Instagram photos: Look at me! Look at my kids! Ironic signage! And, of course, the Holy Grail of the self-centered universe of polaroid-looking digital pics: The Food Photo .\n\n Now, this isn't because I don't like food. Food is the stuff of life. I love me a farmer's market as much as the next hipster. And I dig trips to the butcher the way other dudes like playing golf. I grow veggies and herbs, and I can cook. No issues with food at all\u2014except, \"when is lunch?\" and \"what's for dinner?\" If ever the wife and I can bribe someone into watching the kids, you can be sure we're heading to the nearest, newest burger joint, seafood shack, or wood-fired pizza concern. It's incredible what has happened to food culture in the past twenty years. There's a miracle on every plate! A genius in every kitchen! A revolution of farm-to-table goodness and freshness-is-best-best-ness! And I get it. I am DTF (Down to Foodie).\n\n But there's one thing I have to drawn the line at: Don't send me photos of your dinner. Just don't do it. Put the camera down, pick up the fork, and leave me out of it. Foie gras popsicle at Farmstand in NH? Go duck yourself. Caviar crepes at Canape in Coral Gables? Choke on it, comrade. Watercress salad on the deck in South Hampton? I hope a hurricane washes you out to sea.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n Is this the before or the after?\n\n It's not that I don't get the impulse to share. But this isn't sharing, it's self-promotional, and we all know where this moment in American self-indulgence is heading, don't we? What's next? Before-and-after shots of lunch and the dump that followed? Here's what really stinks about them: No one cares. The universe is a vast, incomprehensible space, filled with things we don't understand. We live short lives full of pain and confusion. And for a flicker of an instant in a millisecond of nothingness, we have the chance to literally sustain ourselves in the company of friends and family\u2014the closest thing to any real connection any of us have\u2014and what do we do? Take a photo of a corn dog quesadilla and post it for the \"world\" (read: other first-world \"foodies\" with pig tattoos and free time galore) to see?\n\n No one needs this much information about us. And, in the future, sociologists will look back at this trove of poorly lit food photos and reason that Planet Earth was populated by people who believed in the existence of Food Gods. Folks, we needn't catalog every meal like death row inmates. We needn't freak out over a chef who is smart enough to add olive oil to a piece of fish (Frankly, we should be thinking about the fish, because we're running out them.) And you know what? That slice of pizza you just took\u2026 not for nothing, but pizza is empirically good. Period. You cook a piece of dough, add cheese, tomato and garlic in a hot-ass oven, and it's delicious. No matter what. It's just what human beings like to eat.\n\n Ask yourself this: What would happen if I didn't photograph my food? Would it be less tasty? Would I actually talk to dinner companions? Maybe get some work done at the office instead of scrolling through shots of popsicles (Popsicles! Melting ice! You know, like the polar caps, but totally inconsequential!)?\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n Sent by iPuke.\n\n My guess is that if we stop Instagraming our ice pops, the earth will still spin. And tomatoes will still ripen in the summer. And corn will still be yummy when you add butter and salt.\n\n But let's find out, shall we? Let's live our lives as if we never thought to take a photo of the food we are about to receive, Amen! Try it for a week\u2014think of it as an Insta-diet. Share with the folks at your table instead. Offer them a bite. Compliment the chef. Tip the waiter. Have another glass of wine, because the world is still gonna end someday, the natural resources we abuse will still run out, but maybe before it all does come crashing down\u2014leaving us with nothing but flickering images of the meals that once were\u2014we can all look each other, and ourselves, in the eyes (not the iPhone) one last time.\n\n In all the paintings of the Last Supper, you ever see any close-ups of the bread and olives and lamb? It's about who's at the table, guys\u2014not what's on your plate."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/stop-instagramming-your-food>