Instagramming Your Food Makes It Taste Better, According To Science

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A picture is, most of the time, worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to food. How else are you supposed to explain how incredible your grandma’s homemade meatballs are without a visual? An essay won’t do — we need to see it plated and still steaming from the bowl to understand the sacredness of this amazing dish. But did you also know that Instagramming food makes you like your meal more than if you didn’t take a pic?

Yep, that means every time you insist on taking a pic of your brunch before everyone digs in, there’s a purpose behind it. How amazing.

A study in the American Psychological Association found that taking photos of an experience increases the average person’s enjoyment. In a series of nine experiments, over 2,000 participants were instructed to engage in an activity, like going to a food court. Some were instructed to take photos, and some were not. At the end of the activity, they filled out a survey based on their enjoyment level.

Those who took photos during their activity were more involved, and they enjoyed what they were doing more than those who did not take photos.

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You would think taking photos would distract you, and it turns out it does. If you invest too much time taking photos you miss out on the moment. Striking a balance should always be the goal. In the case of the study, taking a few photos and then getting back to the action was the optimal way to go.

The positive effect, in part, comes down to creating good memories and being able to look back on them fondly. It’s certainly hard to forget grandma’s meatballs when you have the photo. And with the visual reminder, you recall being with family you rarely see, the moment when your uncle made that inappropriate joke or when your grandfather fell asleep at the table…you get what we’re saying.

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A post shared by Lucy (@foodie.lu) on Mar 29, 2017 at 11:42am PDT

So by all means, feel free to shamelessly perfect your #foodporn shot, but don’t dwell on it too long. Don’t worry about switching up filters and tagging people.

Take the pic, get back into the moment and just enjoy what you’re doing. You’ll have some tasty memories to savor.