It’s no longer cringe to let the camera eat first.
The “camera eats first” phenomenon reflects a modern way of appreciating and preserving memories of beautiful meals that were shared with different people in different places.
In a digital world where we document nearly everything, capturing these moments feels natural. But, when it comes to food, some people, including celebrity Millie Bobby Brown, snub the idea of taking photos of your food, deeming it “cringe.” Yet, if almost everything is frozen and immortalized through photographs, why not extend that to one of life’s greatest pleasures—food?
Meals offer a daily chance to pause, nourish ourselves and our minds. It shouldn’t be viewed as lame to express gratitude for the pleasures of a good meal. Eating is a necessary act that humans must undertake to survive, but eating delicious and filling meals is a privilege that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Instagram culture and the endless search for a perfectly curated feed has led s to search for photo opportunities to create an idyllic life to express through social media. But having a rich appetite for life should extend to embracing your actual appetite.
In Ryan Murphy’s 2010 movie, Eat Pray Love, the main character, Elizabeth Gilbert, played by Julia Roberts, enjoys a pizza with her friend in Italy. Her friend expresses distress overeating pizza because she doesn’t want to gain weight. Elizabeth combats this sentiment saying she’s through with guilt: “I love my pizza so much, in fact, that I have come to believe in my delirium that my pizza might actually love me in return.”
A meal like this one that introduces great conversation with your close friend, seemingly radical acceptance for yourself, and deep appreciation for life is a very valid reason to snap a photo, as it’s a memory and a feeling that’s worthy of being cherished.
Recognizing the joy that accompanies eating good food is a gratitude-inducing idea. Beyond being appreciative, the act of celebrating food, as Elizabeth does in the previous scene, is very freeing. When I decide to exercise gratitude for the small moments of life, including eating, it helps me to recognize the beauty within life that I may have originally taken for granted.
It’s not necessary to take photos of your food to show appreciation for it, but photographs can be a great way to reflect on the pleasant moments in life. Photographs help turn fleeting moments into something lasting. If it’s become normalized to snap constant photos with friends or of sunrises, it’s about time to embrace the idea of taking photos of your food as a practice of resting and acknowledging what you have.
As a busy student, I rarely have the chance to cook elaborate meals. But when I do, I feel fulfilled. When I take photos of the meals I’ve created in my bustling student house to send to my mom, or to the recipes, that meal often becomes my favourite memory of the day to look back on.
If we deny ourselves the opportunity to celebrate food, immortalized through a cute photograph, because we’re worried about being perceived as “cringe,” we may unintentionally neglect the simple pleasure of ing the joy of a delicious meal.
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