![]() Contributed by Willie Franke Many of us have that one friend who posts pictures of their food on social media. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a healthy snack, we can always count on pictures blowing up their news feed. Why do such people feel the need to post pictures of their food instead of just old-fashioned eating it? Imagine you’re on a date, and your date ordered something great to eat. The food comes out and by the time they’re done snapping a picture with the right lighting and posting the final product with an “original” caption, you’ve already almost finished with your dish. What do you do then? You’ve finished eating and your date is still working. Do you watch them eat? Do you talk to them while their mouth is full? No, you sit there awkwardly and you probably don’t get a second date. Yes, this example is extreme, but in reality, is it really that far out of reach? According to eater.com, people who take and post pictures of their food are believed to have a mental illness. This illness describes people’s obsessive relationship to food, which can lead to obesity. This is another extreme example, but is it unimaginable? An example that NFL or sports enthusiasts know of is what happened to Eddie Lacey, a running back of the Green Bay Packers. His story starts in college, where tweets were recovered of him posting pictures of his food and tweeting about food. From his senior year of college to his third year in the NFL, he put on roughly 50-60 pounds, including 30 in three months from draft day to training camp. This is one example of performed identity because it is a routine performed regularly, and eventually it defines who you are. Now, posting pictures of food doesn’t exactly mean you’re going to become obese. Don’t worry, it’s not always about the quantity of posts that are made if the food is healthy. Obviously, healthy food will lead to a healthier lifestyle than Eddie has been living. According to psychologytoday.com, the number two reason why people post pictures of their food is to show other people what a good job they are doing of eating healthy, and to encourage others to do the same. This is an example of self-identification because people are trying to belong to a group, or trying to start a group among their followers. For example, there may be a group on Facebook that is trying to lose weight to live a better lifestyle. They post pictures on this page to show other members their progress, and also encourage the other members to follow in their footsteps. Their pictures might also spark interest in people who would like the same meal or recipe, and they will duplicate it for themselves. In conclusion, posting pictures of food on Facebook, whether it will annoy your audience or not, is a great way to identify yourself, your goals, and your taste interests. However, be aware of what types of foods people in your network are posting. Noticing early trends of unhealthy eating may save a friend, family member, or acquaintance before they become overweight or obese. This is an easy way to track people’s eating habits too, if you pay attention closely. And one final thought: be mindful of the audience of your posts. Some people will like your post, others may become annoyed.
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![]() Contributed by Thomas Tochterman Imagine yourself surfing the web and stumbling across a picture of your significant other captured or posing in a provocative and or embarrassing photo. Would you be able to look at him or her the same again? What would you think about how they portrayed their identity online? These are questions online users have to be aware of when posting pictures on the internet. A popular photo entertainment website known as “The Chive” has been growing in popularity since its emergence in the year 2007. The website is operated by Resignation LLC which first drew the attention of online users by posting internet hoaxes about well-known people and events. Since 2007, the site has grown dramatically, redesigning its content into photo and video categories for user entertainment. The site contains photo and video categories such as “Work Happens” and “So You Got Wasted.” Many other categories of the website may seem provocative to some users because of the exploitation of females. These categories include names such as “Hump Day” and “Future Lower Back Problems” where females are shown posing half naked to show their bodily features. The Chive pulls some of their photos from websites throughout the Internet but it also allows users to upload and post their own photos as well. The site contains no personal information such as name or location but only the image itself. So what does this website have to do with online identity? Even though “The Chive” is purely designed for user entertainment, the posted images of people pose an identity portrayal issue. Other social media websites such as Facebook allow users not only to post pictures but also personal information to portray a certain online identity. “The Chive” only allows for pictures and, as we all know, pictures can say a thousand words. Users who post provocative pictures on “The Chive” need to be aware of what they are portraying their identity to be online. These users need to be aware of the repercussions of millions of other users looking at their photos and making judgements about who they are in reality. Say a female user posts a half-naked photo of herself in her bedroom mirror to “The Chive” before she goes to bed and the next day her coworker recognizes her on the website and mentions something to their boss. The female’s representation of her online identity could have major repercussions because of one picture. This obviously raises more concerns when the pictures are uploaded without the woman's permission. Online identity is easy to create and difficult to change once it has been seen by millions of users. Users are not always aware of the identity they are creating online with the use of pictures. The way people represent their identity online can be completely different from their identity in real life, but a certain embarrassing or controversial picture of them posted online can be up for interpretation by a large audience and that my friends is a scary thing to think about. |
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